Munising Goes from No Team to Best
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 25, 2020
MUNISING — Hattie Cota was the lone runner on the Munising girls cross country team last year.
She became part of an Upper Peninsula championship team here Saturday as the Mustangs earned the Division 3 title with 54 points.
“We’re just so happy,” said Cota, who was individual runner-up on this partly sunny and chilly afternoon at Pictured Rocks Golf & Country Club. “I’m not used to being on a team, especially a good team.”
This marked the first title in seven years for the Mustangs, who were followed by three-time reigning champion Chassell with 73 points and Stephenson with 106.
“I’m just so excited,” said Munising coach Mark Kinnunen. “I thought it’d be many, many years before I’d have a championship team. We came in blind, not knowing who’d come out on top. We didn’t really know what to expect from Chassell. We told the girls to ‘run like you want to win.’ The only reason why we had a full team is because Hattie went out and recruited some girls.”
Rock Mid Peninsula senior Daisy Englund won the individual title for the first time since her freshman year by covering the 3.1-mile course in 21 minutes, 16.4 seconds. Cota, who led much of the third mile, was clocked at 21:27. They were followed by Ewen-Trout Creek senior Elise Besonen (21:41).
"That was so scary,” said Englund, who ran a 6:17 split for her first mile. “I could hear Hattie after the second mile, and I kind of lost my focus for a little while. I knew everybody was going to be targeting me today and told myself I had to hang on. I finished strong, but I don’t know where that came from. I didn’t feel strong the whole race. I was cruising for sure in the first mile. This was my last high school cross country race. I just wanted to win so bad.”
Englund was trailing until the last turn when she used a strong surge to regain the lead.
“I was behind a bunch of girls.” said Cota. “I didn’t think I’d be able to catch her. Daisy ran a great race herself. Once she started pulling away (after the last turn), I knew I couldn’t catch her. I just didn’t have enough left.”
Mid Pen junior and last year’s champion Landry Koski took fourth this time at 21:46.7, and Stephenson senior Kylee Kuntze was fifth (21:47.5).
“This was one of my better races,” said Koski. “I actually felt pretty strong until the last mile. This was also the last race of the year. I had to leave it all on the course.
“I’m just so happy for Daisy. I’m also happy with the weather. This was better than I was expecting. The course was a little wet, but I just went through the puddles. I was going to get wet anyway.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Munising's Monique Brisson (143) and Hattie Cota (144) run in the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final held at Pictured Rocks Golf Course in Munising. (Middle) Rock Mid Peninsula's Daisy Englund approaches the finish line on the way to winning the individual title. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
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.)