A pair of two-time reigning champions will attempt to join an even more exclusive list of title winners at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway.

Romeo in Division 1 and Whitmore Lake in Division 4 will enter their championship races both seeking to become the 10^th and/or 11^th Lower Peninsula teams to win at least three straight Finals championships.  

Whitmore Lake also is led by Kaylie Livingston, who is joined by St. Johns’ Ava Schafer as returning individual champions seeking to repeat.

See below for several more team and individual contenders. The "season bests" list referred to frequently is a ranking list of every runner's best time this season, maintained by Athletic.net. The first girls race, in Division 4, begins at 9:30 a.m.; click here for the full schedule and ticket information.

Additionally, all eight races Saturday at MIS will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on the NFHS Network: Divisions 1 & 2 | Divisions 3 & 4.

Division 1

Reigning champion: Romeo
2024 runner-up: Saline
2025 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Brighton, 3. Romeo.

Romeo is seeking to become the 10^th Lower Peninsula program to win at least three straight Finals championships and will return to MIS with four racers from last year’s top seven including sixth-place senior Natalia Guaresimo and 11^th-place junior Annie Hrabovsky. Pioneer is forecast to win its first title since claiming three straight from 2019-21, and after finishing sixth last season but returning four of their top five from that race including third-place sophomore Natasza Dudek and 15^th-place sophomore Sienna Klemmer. Brighton finished fifth last year with only one senior, and four of its top six placers will run again this weekend after the team won a Regional that also included No. 6 Ann Arbor Skyline and No. 11 Okemos.

Individuals: Dudek is the highest returning placer as four of the top five last season graduated, and she has the fastest 5K time in the state this fall (16:11.2) across either peninsula and all divisions. Hrabovsky ranks second on the Division 1 list of season-best times this fall, and Okemos sophomore Rachel Smith has the third-fastest on that list after finishing 10^th at last year’s Final. Total, 10 of last season’s top 20 will be back this weekend, including as well Rockford seventh-place junior Daisy Cox, Midland Dow eighth-place sophomore Emilia Garces, Ann Arbor Skyline 12^th-place sophomore Lucia Llanes, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 13^th-place junior Leah Corby and Rochester 19^th-place senior Ella Abraham. Pioneer freshman Keira Von Blon also has run one of the top 10 times in Division 1 this fall, and Zeeland East sophomore Adalyn Raab finished 11^th in Division 2 in 2024.

Division 2

Reigning champion: Goodrich
2024 runner-up: Zeeland East
2025 top-ranked: 1. Otsego, 2. Grand Rapids South Christian, 3. Grand Rapids Christian.

Goodrich last season won its first championship in nearly two decades, and is ranked No. 5 heading into this weekend. Otsego finished fifth a year ago but is the favorite after also finishing second in 2023 and most recently winning the title in 2022. Three of last season’s top four are back this weekend for the Bulldogs – including the reigning runner-up, senior Emma Hoffman – and they are bolstered by four freshmen including three whose top times this fall rank among the top 40 on the Division 2 season bests list. South Christian is expected to make a jump from 13^th a year ago as it pursues its first Finals team title after previously finishing a program-best second in 2005. The Sailors return three runners from last year’s lineup as well, with four freshmen providing a boost. Grand Rapids Christian is another regular in this conversation, finishing fourth with no seniors a year ago after winning the title in 2023. Five of last year’s seven Finals racers are back for the Eagles this weekend.

Individuals: Only five of last season’s top 20 were seniors, and St. Johns junior Ava Schafer is running for a repeat after winning last year’s race by 10 seconds. Hoffman has the fastest time in Division 2 this season (16:20.6), with Gaylord senior Katie Berkshire’s season best (16:32.0) ranking second in Division 2 after she placed third at last year’s Final. The other 11 non-seniors from last season’s top 20 (with Raab running in Division 1) all will be back as well, including Holland Christian fourth-place sophomore Avery Engbers, Freeland sixth-place junior Clara Kaczor, Ludington eighth-place junior Annabelle Lowman and Frankenmuth ninth-place senior Natalie Foltz. Pinckney junior Jaelyn Ray finished 12^th last  season and has the third-fastest top time in Division 2 this season, and Ludington freshman Eliza Schwass has posted the fourth-fastest top time in the division.

Division 3

Reigning champion: Lansing Catholic
2024 runner-up: Pewamo-Westphalia
2025 top-ranked: 1. Lansing Catholic, 2. Pewamo-Westphalia, 3. Jackson Lumen Christi.

The top two from last season are predicted to finish that way again, with Lansing Catholic returning its top six runners from last year’s championship lineup and P-W four of its seven – with both teams also featuring one of the fastest freshmen in the division. Pirates junior Alyssa Kramer finished 14^th individually a year ago and has the second-fastest top time this fall in Division 3, with Cougars junior Grace Wonch and sophomore Josie Bishop (20^th last season) also ranking among the top seven on the division’s top times list. Lumen Christi finished ninth a year ago led by now-junior Samantha Schroeder, who finished eighth individually. She’s one of three runners back from last season’s Finals lineup and has the third-fastest top time in Division 3 this fall.

Individuals: The top five and eight of last season’s top 11 graduated, with Leslie senior Hailey Creisher the highest returning placer at sixth a year ago and also entering with the fastest time in Division 3 this season at 17:51.9. Following her and Schroeder among returning placers is Lakeview junior Kamryn Salladay, who was 10^th and is back as an individual qualifier. Blissfield senior Hope Miller (12^th), Grand Rapids Covenant Christian junior Shelby Kuiper (13^th), Kramer  (14^th), McBain sophomore Caelyn Torry (16^th), Kent City sophomore Elliana Max (18^th) and Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central senior Bella LaFountain (19^th) also are back from the 2024 top 20. Expect some new names as well: Six of the top 23 top times run in Division 3 this season have been run by freshmen.

Division 4

Reigning champion: Whitmore Lake
2024 runner-up: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian
2025 top-ranked: 1. Whitmore Lake, 2. Buckley, 3. Maple City Glen Lake.

Whitmore Lake also is running to become the 10^th Lower Peninsula girls program to win three straight Finals titles, and the Trojans are once again paced by junior Kaylie Livingston – last year’s individual champion and holder of the fastest time in Division 4 this fall at 17:45.0. Total, Whitmore Lake returns six racers from last year’s title-winning lineup, with senior Carina Burchi finishing 11^th individually a year ago and senior Elodie Weaver back after placing 24^th. Buckley impressively placed 11^th as a team last year after graduating two-time individual champion Aiden Harrand and without a senior. The Bears return four of their top six racers from 2024. Glen Lake didn’t run at the Finals as a team last season, but now-sophomore Carmella Julian placed 20^th as an individual qualifier and is back as the Lakers pursue their first team title since 2000. Glen Lake will run three freshmen, three sophomores and a junior after finishing second at its Regional to Buckley.

Individuals: Livingston and Gobles third-place junior Libby Smith are the only two from last  year’s top seven racing again, and they could make this a classic. Although Livingston won last year’s race by 14 seconds and finished 20 ahead of Smith, Smith’s top time this fall (17:46.8) is just two seconds off Livingston’s division-best pace. Harbor Springs junior Stefi Reskevics (eighth), Onekama sophomore Callie Sinke (ninth), Burchi (11^th), Breckenridge senior Ally Schmitz (14^th), Grand Traverse Academy junior Amelia McKinney (15^th), Ubly senior Katie Sweeney (16^th) and Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep senior Emma Riker (18^th) also are back from the top 20, and three freshmen and an eighth grader have run top times among the top 17 in Division 4 this fall. Leland sophomore Sophia Grinage finished 51^st  in her Finals debut last year, but has run the third-fastest top time in the division.

PHOTO Several teams, including this weekend's expected Division 2 contender Grand Rapids South Christian, take their opening strides during the Otsego Invitational Division 2 race on Sept. 27. (Photo by Gary Shook.)