Newberry's Taylor Speeding Through Senior Season Among UP Finals Favorites
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 16, 2026
ESCANABA — Abby Taylor is trying to make the most of her final year of high school cross country.
The Newberry senior, who runs an average of 45 miles per week, is fresh from winning the second leg of the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference jamboree schedule, Monday at Rudyard School Farm in a time of 19.26.9. She also won the first leg of league competition, on Oct. 5, which was her fourth race in seven days. Taylor had just won the Negaunee Invitational on Sept. 29, the Great Eskymos Chase in Escanaba on Oct. 1 and placed 14th in the Elite division at the Oct. 3 Shepherd Invitational.
She was clocked in 20:06.8 at Negaunee, then improved to 19:27.6 in Escanaba and 19:21.9 at Shepherd.
At Escanaba, she was followed by Superior Central freshman Edye Burdett in the latter’s personal-best 19:32.5, Kingsford junior Maria Murvich (19:50.8) and sophomore teammate Molly McNamara (20:02.9).
“It felt like I was pretty tired at Negaunee,” she said. “I felt better and a lot stronger (at Escanaba). Having that competition helped. This was my first time running against Maria this year. I think it was exciting. I’m glad I had somebody here to push me.”
McNamara was runner-up at the opening EUP jamboree at Naubinway in 20:35.
“I think Abby is probably the best teammate I’ve had,” McNamara said. “We train together quite a bit. Samantha (Taylor) was here last year and was also a good leader.”
Samantha Taylor, Abby’s older sister, was the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals champion as a freshman in 2022, and with Abby helped Newberry finish runner-up as a team in 2023. Samantha also helped Newberry’s track team set the UPD3 Finals record in the 3,200 relay (10:15.39) this past spring and has moved on to competing for the cross country team at Central Michigan.
“After Sam joined cross country, I got interested,” Abby said. “She was good, and I figured I could be good at it, too.
“It’s really a mental game. After you have a bad race, you really have to push yourself. We really have a stronger schedule this year. I’m excited about running in the bigger meets. It’s good to have that competition.”
Taylor challenged herself with another strong test at the East Jordan Invitational on Sept. 2, finishing third in the Division 1-2-3 race behind a pair of 2025 Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals qualifiers from Traverse City Central.
Newberry returns to action Saturday at the Rudyard Fall Classic before finishing up EUP competition Monday at Pickford.
The Upper Peninsula Finals will be run Oct. 24 in Houghton. Taylor finished third as a freshman, second just ahead of her sister as a sophomore, and then third again right behind Samantha as a junior last fall.
Abby Taylor also is deciding which college she wants to attend. She said at the Negaunee meet that she’s been in contact with CMU and Northern Michigan University.
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Newberry's Abby Taylor runs to a first-place finish Aug. 28 at the Dale Phillips Invitational held at Presque Isle in Marquette. (Middle) Taylor crosses the finish line in first place at the Negaunee Invitational. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)
Paupore Closes Career with 3-Peat Run
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 19, 2019
By John Vrancic
Special for Second Half
MARQUETTE – Negaunee senior Emily Paupore is used to leading the way in cross country races.
She has done that in most races since her sophomore year.
That held true again at Saturday's Upper Peninsula Finals as she earned her third straight Division 1 title at Gentz's Golf Course in Chocolay Township.
Paupore covered the 3.1-mile course in 19 minutes, 18.7 seconds. She was followed by Kingsford junior Melanie Wenzel (20:27) and Houghton sophomore Ingrid Seaholm (20:38.9).
"Honestly, this was one of my toughest races this year," she said. "This wasn't my best race, but I'm thankful to end with a U.P. championship. Our coach (Lisa Bigalk) is retiring after this year. This is a very special day. I knew her since I was born, and she was in the hospital (Marquette General) when I was born. We have a special bond for sure. She's awesome.
"Coming across the finish line in a cross country race for the last time as a high school runner is bittersweet. Although, I'm ready for my next chapter (college cross country and track). It's cool to have had the experience of running high school cross country."
Marquette edged Kingsford 66-69 for its fifth title in seven years. Last season’s champion Sault Ste. Marie squeezed past Houghton 79-80 for third place.
"We knew it would be close," said Marquette coach Kyle Detmers. "Lillian Weycher, who was our sixth or seventh runner all year, and was our No. 3 runner today. And Ericka Asmus and Josie Danielkiewicz ran after having some time off. Kingsford came in behind them, and that was the difference."
This marked the first runner-up finish for Kingsford in its program's history.
For Wenzel, the race closed the book on her first cross country season.
"We trained hard this summer," she said. "I think we all did good for running on a windy day. There were a lot of rolling hills on the course. We really had to pick it up there. We were very consistent. We were all getting our times down."
Division 2
Hancock retained its D-2 title with 34 points, followed by St. Ignace with 56 and Ishpeming with 84.
"We lost three girls from last season, but gained three girls," said Hancock's Jennifer Smith, who previously coached in Ohio. "They absolutely pulled it together and did what it took. Four of our girls were playing volleyball, and four were always running. We knew St. Ignace was our competition, and Ishpeming has some good runners.
“This is my first year coaching cross country up here. I jumped into an already great program, and we want to keep it going."
Hancock freshman Maylie Kilpela won in 21:16.9, followed by Munising freshman Hattie Cota (21:43.5) and Ishpeming sophomore Taylor Longtine (22:00.3).
"I just stayed right behind (Cota)," said Kilpela. "She's a good runner. I passed her in the last mile and knew I had to keep going.
“It feels great to be part of a championship team. We were running against good competition all year, and that pushed us a lot. All our girls did well."
Division 3
Chassell, placing four in the top eight, captured its third consecutive D-3 championship with 36 points. The Panthers, who also won for the fifth time in six years, were followed by Rock Mid Peninsula with 73 points and Cedarville at 90.
Mid Pen sophomore Landry Koski earned her first Finals championship in 21:31.2, followed by Cedarville freshman Lilianna Cason (21:42.1) and Mid Pen junior Daisy Englund (21:49.4).
"This was a nice course," said Koski. "Although, I didn't know what to expect. The wind was a factor today. It was like hitting a wall in the last stretch, plus we had all the little hills. The course didn't look that hard at first, but once you're running on the hills you realize how challenging they are.
It feels great to be a U.P. champion. This was very unexpected. I'm just kind of on Cloud Nine right now."
Chassell placed the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth runners to dominate the team standings. Kamryn Sohlden, Paige Sleeman, Ayla Miller and Gwen Kangas all ran between 22:07 and 22:24.
PHOTOS: (Top) Negaunee’s Emily Paupore opens up a big lead during the Division 1 Final on Saturday. (Middle) Hancock’s Sierrah Driscoll (187) leads a Division 2 pack including Norway’s Taylor Adams (210). (Below) Chassell’s Paige Sleeman (348) paces a group in the Division 3 race. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)