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.)
Jazwinski Repeats in Record Fashion, Osterberg Paces Lumen Christi Team Title
November 4, 2023
BROOKLYN — Hart junior Jessica Jazwinski has been so dominant in cross country that she needs to mentally conjure up competition to keep pushing herself.
“I try to think there’s a girl right behind me,” she said. “So, I’m always practicing, ‘OK, there’s a girl right behind me. If I don’t push myself as hard as I can, she’s going to beat me.’
“That’s kind of what I do.”
That mental game pushed Jazwinski to a record-breaking performance Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, because there certainly weren’t any real opponents breathing down her neck.
Jazwinski’s time of 17:08.8 broke the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals record of 17:12.5 set by Abby Vanderkooi of Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in 2020.
She won by a whopping 40.7 seconds ahead of Jackson Lumen Christi senior Madison Osterberg, whose 17:49.5 performance is the 11th-fastest ever by a Division 3 girl.
“I just wanted to crush it as hard as I could today,” Jazwinski said. “I was really happy with the outcome. I knew I wanted to push myself as hard as I could. I knew there were some really tough girls in this race. I didn’t know how they would go out and if anyone was going to try to run with me. I think all the girls helped push me to run as fast as I did today.”
After placing third as a freshman, Jazwinski has won the last two Division 3 championships.
She has won 13 races in a row since placing second to Division 1 star Rachel Forsyth of Ann Arbor Pioneer in the season-opening Peter Moss Invite at Benzie Central. Even though Forsyth has won all of her races this season, Jazwinski didn’t use that fact as any source of comfort.
“I was really disappointed, because I really wanted to try to win that race,” Jazwinski said. “She’s an amazing competitor. I’m excited to race her after the season, too. It lit a fire under my butt, because I didn’t want to lose again. It kind of was motivation, because I didn’t want to lose. I learned a lot from that race.”
Osterberg isn’t someone who is used to losing races, but she was thrilled with her runner-up performance, particularly after placing 50th last year.
“This is a dream come true,” Osterberg said. “Last year, I was in the top 10 and I fell apart and got 50th. I’ve been thinking about this meet for a year to try to help my team. I’m so blessed that I finished on both feet.”
Osterberg did indeed help her team, leading Lumen Christi to its 10th Finals championship and first since 2012. The second-ranked Titans scored 140 points to defeat top-ranked Traverse City St. Francis by 37.
Freshman Samantha Schroeder was 13th, sophomore Macy Fazekas was 43rd, senior Sydney Fazekas was 50th and junior Layla Lopez was 82nd for Lumen Christi.
PHOTOS (Top) Hart’s Jessica Jazwinski closes in on a repeat Division 3 championship Saturday at MIS. (Middle) Jackson Lumen Christi’s Madison Osterberg finishes runner-up in leading the Titans to the team title. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)