Eagles' Frens, East Grand Rapids Find Fast Gears at Finals Time
November 6, 2021
BROOKLYN — The clock was ticking on Madelyn Frens’ hopes of winning an MHSAA cross country championship in her final season at Grand Rapids Christian.
After running a blistering time of 17:56.0 on Aug. 28 at the Pete Moss Invitational at Benzie Central, Frens was sidelined with a stress reaction in her right femur.
Cross country season is short. Any time away from training and racing makes it less likely a runner will be successful come championship time.
But after going nearly four weeks without a race, Frens returned without missing a beat. With five races as a build-up for the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final, Frens pulled away from a five-way battle for the championship to win in 17:52.30.
The time away from running was actually beneficial for Frens.
“I was able to have a lot of time just to think about myself and what running actually means to me,” she said. “It doesn’t define all of who I am.”
It was in her second race back, an Ottawa-Kent Conference White jamboree Oct. 6 that she won in 18:11.9, that Frens knew she was still on track to become a Finals champion.
“I was like, ‘I’ve still got this; my team’s got this,’” Frens said.
Her team finished second with 99 points behind East Grand Rapids, which had 66.
It was the third MHSAA team championship in four years for East Grand Rapids, which took second last year to Petoskey. Grand Rapids Christian was third last year.
East Grand Rapids put four runners in the top 15, with sophomore Drew Muller placing fifth in 18:23.28, senior Ainsley Workman ninth in 18:55.57, freshman Sadey Seyferth 12th in 18:58.41, sophomore Sophia Lado 15th in 19:05.87 and junior Abigail Petr 52nd in 19:50.93. All seven Pioneers broke 20 minutes.
Following Frens across the line were four sophomores who will likely have more battles just like this in the next two years. Early leader Mary Richmond of Frankenmuth was second in 17:56.01, Meghan Ford of Mason was third in 18:10.81, Natalie VanOtteren of Grand Rapids Christian was fourth in 18:13.46 followed by East Grand Rapids’ Muller in 18:23.28. There was a 22-second gap after that before the next wave of runners reached the line.
It was the most competitive race of the day, with five runners within three seconds of one another at the two-mile mark. Frens was fourth at the mile and third at the two mile.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Christian’s Madelyn Frens pulls away during the final stretch of Saturday’s LPD2 championship race. (Middle) Drew Muller leads a group of eventual high-placing East Grand Rapids runners in their team title pursuit. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
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.)