Dudek Obliterates 'Unbreakable' Record to lead Pioneer to Division 1 Sweep
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — When Rachel Forsyth of Ann Arbor Pioneer scorched the Michigan International Speedway cross country course in 16 minutes, 28.5 seconds in 2023, it looked like a record that would stand the test of time.
After all, it eclipsed the previous record by a whopping 23.6 seconds.
As it turns out, Forsyth’s seemingly unbreakable record stood for only two years.
Another Pioneer running prodigy, Natasza Dudek, gave spectators Saturday at MIS an awe-inspiring display of greatness by lowering the record to 16:09.5 to win the MHSAA Division 1 Finals championship.
That record might not last long either because Dudek is only a sophomore with two more chances to break the elusive 16-minute barrier.
“It really is an honor,” Dudek said. “I’m blessed to be out here healthy and able to run this fast. (Forsyth is) a former athlete here at Pioneer High School. I’m really proud of her record, as well. I’m really happy I could run this fast time out here.”
Forsyth is someone Dudek looks to for advice, but she isn’t the only mentor in her life. Dudek’s sister, Zofia, was the 2019 Division 1 champion.
“Rachel’s very sweet, very fast,” Dudek said. “I look up to her a lot. She sometimes comes out to our practices, gives us some tips. She’s a great person.
“Zofia is always out there for me. She’s always supporting me, always calling me, texting me, telling me no matter what happens, everything’s OK and she’s proud of me.”
Dudek’s time was not only an MIS record, but the fastest time in the country this season. Junior Sophia Rodriguez of Mercer Island in Washington has run 16:10.0.
By the mile mark, Dudek held a 16.5-second lead with her split of 5:09.6. She hit the two-mile mark in 10:28.8, extending her lead to 31.6 seconds. She wound up well ahead of Okemos sophomore Rachel Smith, who ran an outstanding time of 17:04.7 that would’ve been the 10th-fastest in MIS history coming into the meet.
Dudek has gotten used to producing eye-popping times while running solo up front. She had only one close race all season, winning by 8.2 seconds over Saturday’s Division 2 champion Emma Hoffman of Otsego in the Spartan Invitational Elite race.
“Everybody out here, the atmosphere, they push me so much,” Dudek said. “In my head, I’m always just motivating myself to really step it up, every mile, every 100 meters in the race. I always think of my teammates, how they’re doing, how they’re giving it their all, so I really want to keep up with that.”
Her teammates are pretty fast in their own right, fast enough to win the Pioneers’ seventh MHSAA Finals championship and first since 2021.
The battle for the team championship was much closer, with Pioneer scoring 96 points to beat two-time defending champion Romeo by seven.
The Pioneers had four runners break 18 minutes. Following Dudek across the line were Sienna Klemmer (eighth, 17:38.8), Hana Boggess (13th, 17:56.9) and Keira Von Blon (14th, 17:57.2). Lizzie Wernimont took 90th overall in 19:04.2 to complete the Pioneers’ score.
Romeo put three runners in the top 10, with Annie Hrabovsky taking third in 17:22.1, Ella Goodsell sixth in 17:29.3 and Natalia Guaresimo 10th in 17:47.6.
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Natasza Dudek approaches the finish line Saturday as she completes the fastest race in MHSAA Finals history. (Middle) The Pioneers’ Hana Boggess (9) and Keira Von Blon (14) run with a one of the fastest packs during the Division 1 race. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
White Pigeon's West Finds Multi-Success
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
September 5, 2017
Before most high school students have blistered their fingertips on a hot Pop-Tart in a rush to get out the door and to school on time, White Pigeon sophomore Claycee West has already completed a rigorous cross country workout.
It’s not for love of the sport that West logs miles at 5:10 a.m. with longtime Chiefs coach Pete Mestelle. She doesn’t even like the sport. But with volleyball also demanding her precious time, the two-sport fall athlete gets in her workouts whenever she can. And in this case, it’s before the sun comes up.
When that doesn’t work with her packed schedule, she’ll squeeze in a run when the nets and the sun start to come down.
West, who had a phenomenal freshman year, which included a scholar-athlete award on top of three varsity letters and a trio of Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference all-league team nods in volleyball, basketball and track & field, made the mature decision to tack on another athletic endeavor in order to see improvement in all the others.
“It’s just keeping me in shape,” said West, who also participates in club volleyball and basketball during the offseasons. “(Mestelle) really got me in shape for track season and he has put a lot of work into me. I couldn’t do anything without him. He’s helping me tremendously.”
It works both ways. Mestelle’s girls cross country teams in recent years have struggled to put enough runners on the course to register team scores. This year, though, the Division 4 Chiefs have more than 10 girls on the roster. West, with no long distance running experience, is already vying for the top spot.
She may not reap the same rewards right away as she did in her other sports, but West’s competitive nature won’t allow her to be just a participant.
“She is probably going to be our No. 1 or No. 2 runner,” Mestelle said. “It’s going to help her with her mind. It’s not just running; you have to think about what you’re doing. Her form has really come a long ways.”
West is grateful to Mestelle for making himself available so early in the morning and the commitment required to make playing two sports at once possible.
Mestelle made light of his pre-dawn pledge.
“It helps keep me young,” he said.
West is a middle and outside hitter for the volleyball team, she’s the returning point guard and leading scorer for the basketball team and she qualified for the 2017 Lower Peninsula Division 4 MHSAA Track & Field Finals in both the 200 and 400 meters last spring. Her time of 1 minute, 00.89 seconds in the 400 was good for seventh place and all-state status.
In hoops, West scored 236 points as a rookie with 43 assists, 58 steals, 14 blocks and 89 rebounds.
But cross country is an entirely new challenge.
“I love to win, and I’m very competitive,” West said. “Honestly, at first (in cross country) I wasn’t trying to win. We had our first meet last week and I did OK. It killed me to see how I did compared to how I perform in other sports. I think that will change because I want to win. It’s hard for me because I dislike running, so it’s a mental challenge more than anything.”
It may sound contradictory, but West claims the demanding schedule keeps her fresh mentally and physically.
“I think the biggest thing is that I don’t wear myself out,” she said. “I love what I do, but if I do one thing for way too long, I’m going to get tired of it. I love so many different things that it’s easy for me to change it up. It works out my body differently. I don’t overwork myself just in one area.”
In a time when the topic of sports specialization in high school is heavily debated, West is a case study in how a multi-sport experience has far more benefits than that of a one-track approach. And for a small school such as White Pigeon, that attitude is vital to fielding competitive squads.
“So driven,” White Pigeon girls basketball coach Brooke McClure said of West. “She works really hard. Anything you want in a kid, a student-athlete, she’s it. She’s been like this since she was a little girl. We’re really fortunate to have her. She inspires other girls to do better in school and in sports.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: White Pigeon's Claycee West awaits a serve during a volleyball match. (Middle) West works to get around a defender during last basketball season. (Photos courtesy of Wes Morgan.)