BROOKLYN – Runner-up redemption was the theme of the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Girls Cross Country Final.

Hillsdale Academy and Gobles senior Libby Smith, who finished as runners-up in the team and individual standings a year ago, got over the hump Saturday at Michigan International Speedway to bring home the first titles in their program’s histories.

Smith was dominant in the individual race, leading throughout on her way to a winning margin of nearly 18 seconds. She finished in 18 minutes, 18.9 seconds, with Martin’s Veyda Conley finishing second at 18:36.8. Two-time defending champion Kaylie Livingston was third at 18:53.2.

“I felt really ready,” Smith said. “Sometimes I feel really nervous, and I was nervous, but it’s good to have nerves going into a race. I felt really confident. I knew that I just had to believe in myself and I did, and it showed.”

Smith was just six seconds behind Livingston a year ago, and had finished third as a sophomore and seventh as a freshman. 

Having been so close in past years served as motivation this time, but her biggest regret from a year ago was missing some of her teammates finish while giving an interview. This year, she made sure to see every Gobles runner cross the line, including Ava DeYoung and Lauren Shaffer who finished seventh and 10th.

“Oh my gosh, we kept talking about it, that we’re all seniors and we can all go top 10,” Smith said. “I was so happy when I saw Lauren and Ava. I knew they could do it – they just had to know it, too, and they did.”

Hillsdale Academy won the team race with 117 points, well ahead of Onekama and three-time defending champion Whitmore Lake who each scored 169. (Onekama finished second based on the sixth-runner tie-breaker.)

The Colts clinched despite having just one runner, Evelyn Meyer, finish among the top 30 individuals and earn all-state.

“The mile and a half, I was confident – I felt good about where we were at,” Hillsdale Academy coach Michael Nikkila said. “I felt good about where we were, the girls all looked good and they were moving forward. At the 2-mile, everything had just gotten better. At that point, it was just, if we finish we’re going to get in. At that point, it was just can we get anyone else in the top 30. We’re not that team, we’re between 38 and 50. We weren’t a bunch of all-staters today, but we were a state championship team.”

Meyer finished eighth overall (sixth among competitors in the team race) with a time of 19:25. The next four Colts all finished within six places of one another.

Eliza Roberts was 38th (25^th among team racers) at 20:33.2, Moira Beier was 40th (27^th) at 20:35.2, Norah Tracy was 42nd (29^th) at 20:34.4 and Heather Morris rounded out the scoring in 44th (30^th) at 20:58.7. 

Runners six and seven didn’t score but weren’t far behind, as Maren Gehrke was 51^st in 20:58.7, and Lorelei Stemme was 78^th in 21:20.6.

Click for full results. 

PHOTOS (Top) Gobles Libby Smith pushes toward the finish of the Division 4 girls race Saturday at MIS. (Middle) Hillsdale Academy’s Evelyn Meyer (1420) races through the final stretch. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)