Livingston Repeats, Whitmore Lake 3-Peats to Kickoff LP Cross Country Finals
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — When asked about her own performance, Whitmore Lake junior Kaylie Livingston kept returning the subject to her team.
Livingston repeated as the Division 4 champion at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals on Saturday with a time of 18 minutes, 30.7 seconds at Michigan International Speedway.
Of even more importance to Livingston was being part of a championship team at the Finals for the third year in a row.
The Trojans achieved the three-peat by scoring 140 points to finish ahead of runner-up Hillsdale Academy by 18. It was the sixth Finals championship for Whitmore Lake.
“My season’s gone really well,” Livingston said. “The girls as a whole have done really good. We had big wins at big invitationals.”
Livingston has been the front-runner leading the Trojans to all three titles. She took second as a freshman behind Buckley senior Aiden Harrand, who won with a Division 4 record of 17:38.9. Livingston won the individual championship last season before repeating this year.
“I really wanted to defend the title to show I’m on the same level as I was last season and just that I keep improving,” Livingston said.
Asked about the pressure of repeating individually, Livingston’s thoughts went to the team as a whole.
“Definitely the pressure is very high,” she said. “The girls felt it. With some of the senior girls this year, I felt really confident we could do really well. We’ve definitely learned how to handle the pressure.”
In addition to Livingston, Carina Burchi, Sofia Robertson and Elodie Weaver have been members of all three championship teams at Whitmore Lake. Malynda Lambros and Caroline Darrah ran for the last two championship teams.
Burchi was 17th on Saturday in 19:50.6, Lambros 30th in 20:20.3, Robertson 46th in 20:56.7 and Weaver 107th in 21:59.8 for the Trojans.
In the individual race, Gobles junior Libby Smith stayed close enough to Livingston to keep things interesting heading into the long final stretch at MIS. Livingston hit the mile mark in 5:42.5, followed by Smith in 5:44.9. Livingston opened up a 10.3-second lead after hitting two miles in 11:43.6.
Smith took nearly four seconds off Livingston’s lead in the final tenth of a mile, but couldn’t close the gap, finishing in 18:36.1.
“I could see her the whole time,” said Smith, who was third last year and seventh as a freshman. “I was hoping. It was a tough race. I’m happy with how I did.”
Emma Riker of Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep was third in 18:44.9.
PHOTOS (Top) Whitmore Lake’s Kaylie Livingston charges toward the finish line on the way to repeating as Division 4 champion Saturday morning. (Middle) Gobles’ Libby Smith travels the closing stretch. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Hoffman Adds To Record-Setting Day, Holland Christian Claims 1st Finals Win
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — What’s up with all these incredible times being run by Michigan high school cross country girls this fall?
Times that once seemed unapproachable are being run fairly regularly by the top girls in the state. Times that once guaranteed a spot on the all-state podium are no longer fast enough.
Otsego senior Emma Hoffman won the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship with a time of 16 minutes, 50.1 seconds Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. It was a Division 2 record and the fourth-fastest time ever at MIS, but only the second-fastest time on a day in which Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore Natasza Dudek ran a course-record 16:09.5.
Dudek’s time is the fastest in the nation this year and Hoffman’s 16:20.6 in her home invitational is fourth.
Gaylord senior Katie Berkshire was second with a time of 17:03.0 that ranks third in Division 2 history and 11th overall at MIS.
“It’s crazy to have that happen here,” Hoffman said. “Michigan’s getting really, really good at running. Cross country times are getting crazier and crazier every year.
“Watching girls from our state and other states hit those times it’s like, ‘Why not me? Why can’t I do that?’”
It was a surreal race in which Hoffman had a large lead over Berkshire, who in turn had a large lead over a talented pack of runners with sub-18 credentials.
“My coach preaches all the time to get out hard and relax,” said Hoffman, who won 10 of 11 races this season, the only loss being to Dudek. “So, I just knew going into this to just continue that. All season it’s been a lot of solo races. I just had to get out hard. Why change it on a day you don’t need to change it?”
Hoffman was second at the Finals as a freshman and junior, taking 17th as a sophomore.
Berkshire was 5.6 seconds behind Hoffman at the mile and 9.9 seconds back at the two mile. She kept pushing ahead, hoping to reel in one of the nation’s top runners.
“I was just trying to close that gap,” Berkshire said. “It was really hard to. I don’t know if I really succeeded in that or not. I tried to keep the mindset of, ‘Hey, I could win, so I’m going to keep pushing myself forward.’ I didn’t win, but I think it’s just the motivation of trusting myself and I can keep going. I’m just going to try my hardest. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, but at least I can say I gave everything I had.”
Hoffman hoped to take home two championships, but her team finished second in a close battle with fourth-ranked Holland Christian – which scored 113 points to beat top-ranked Otsego by six.
It was the first MHSAA Finals championship for the Maroons, whose best finish was third place last season.
Avery Engbers was sixth in 18:05.0, Eliana Stob 17th in 18:29.1, Annika Stob 33rd in 18:45.1, Layla Geurink 42nd in 19:03.8 and Ellery Lampen 54th in 19:17 for Holland Christian.
PHOTOS (Top) Otsego’s Emma Hoffman surges toward the finish of Saturday’s Division 2 Final at MIS. (Middle) Holland Christian’s Avery Engbers (484) leads a pack during the closing stretch. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)