Next Stop on Lake City's Unanticipated Run? Trojans Set to Contend for Finals Title
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
November 6, 2026
Starting the season with just two runners returning would not make many cross country teams think about finishing the season at Michigan International Speedway.
But it didn’t take many race results for the Lake City girls team to start thinking about the possibility.
Despite starting the fall with just the two returnees, the Trojans find themselves headed to MIS for Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. And not only did they qualify, but they have thoughts of finishing among the top five this weekend – if not as champions.
“To be honest, I'm still processing it,” admitted fifth-year Lake City girls coach Zach Jones. “It's a little bit, I don't know, surreal or something.”
Juniors Harlow Hughes and Faith Helsel were the only Lake City returnees this fall. Both qualified as individuals for last year’s Final.
“They were already talented runners who had worked hard and made it to states on their own last year,” Jones said. “And they would've this year, too, probably, but knowing that those freshmen were coming up really got them excited.”
Lake City has regularly featured four freshmen and two of them, Isadora Shaw and Aubrey Doan, have been the Trojans’ top performers all season. The other two, Milah Eising and Bailey Griessel, round out the seven-runner lineup most meets. The team also features experienced track distance runner Elise Renkiewicz, a junior, in the number three spot.
Lake City’s roster also includes freshman Elizabeth Dulzo, sophomore Rhaelyn Davis, and seniors Emma Grady and Payton Durga.
“It's just been a really solid team effort on the part of all the girls,” Jones said. “I think they all set the primary team goal above all their individual goals. And I think that's part of why they got it done.”
Lake City qualified for the Final by winning its first Regional title, finishing first at Mancelona ahead of Traverse City St. Francis, which had won 11 straight Regional championships. The Gladiators also qualified for the Final along with third-place finisher Harbor Springs.
Lake City took three of the top four Regional individual places. Shaw led the way, capturing first place with an 18:30.6 performance. Dolan was second, finishing with a time of 18:50.7. Renkiewicz ran a 19:13.8 en route to the fourth spot. Helsel finished ninth and Hughes 12th to round out the scoring.
Thoughts of becoming Regional champs were few and far between when the season started. But as the individual times improved throughout the season, that became the Trojans’ goal.
They also won the Highland Conference championship along the way.
“Because St. Francis has such a strong program, they were a good target for the girls and we could see our chances getting a little bit better each week,” Jones acknowledged. “Quite frankly, it was a lofty goal. I was skeptical because they were setting a big goal for themselves, but I was happy that they were trying.”
And now Jones, who also coaches the Lake City boys team, and the entire Trojans girls squad are ready to make a bid for a Finals championship, something not even on their radar when the season commenced in August.
“It really wasn't on the radar partly because we were taking one step at a time,” Jones said. “Now I think winning is their goal. They know it's there, and they know it's possible. They’re super optimistic and excited.”
Shaw concurs with her coach’s thoughts on the Final.
“I think everybody's really excited to see how we'll do and everything,” Shaw said. “I think it's just going to take a lot of self-belief and just doing what we have been doing, like winning Regionals, the conference and everything. Honestly, it hasn't really quite kicked in yet that we're actually going to states as a team, and you never know what can happen.”
Shaw, who began running just four years ago on the Lake City Middle School team coached by Kelsey Jones, is looking for all seven runners Saturday to make the difference.
“I'm really proud of our top seven because Milah and Bailey are really giving it their all as well,” Shaw pointed out. “And honestly, they have not been running as long. They're really showing up, too, backing us. I'm really proud of our entire team.”
Shaw also pointed to having such a strong training partner and personal friend in Doan as one of the keys to the Trojans’ success. That connection led to both of them recording personal bests at the Regional.
“We are so close to each other in age and in time,” Shaw said. “It's really cool to have somebody who's so close to me because I'm able to train with her and understand our different ways of processing and just doing the whole race overall.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Lake City’s Isadora Shaw and Elise Renkiewicz take off with their teammates at the start of the Highland Conference championship race this season. (Middle) The Trojans pose for a photo with their Regional trophy. (Below) Shaw has been among the team’s pacesetters and won the individual Regional title. (Starting line photo by Zach Jones. Team photo by Courtney Helsel. Shaw individual photo by Hayden Fowler.)
BEWARE of Bears: Finals Champ Harrand Pacing Buckley's Team Title Pursuit
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
August 25, 2023
Over the years at Buckley, Aiden Harrand got pretty used to running alone.
It is unknown how often she thought about encountering a bear. It is also uncertain how much she dreamed about running with Bears — the Buckley Bears.
Harrand, now a senior, is surrounded by Bears – teammates. She had only one teammate as a freshman. There were no other girls on the team her sophomore year. Buckley fielded an entire team her junior year last fall, and the Bears placed eighth at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final. Harrand won the individual championship that day to lead them to that best-ever girls cross country finish.
She also won the three LPD4 track individual distance championships last spring in helping the Buckley claim the first team Finals title in any sport in the school’s history.
Harrand is starting this fall campaign Saturday at the Benzie Invitational. They’ll hit the Benzie course with their two team themes in mind – “We’re on Fire” and “Watch out for Bears.” If the competition doesn’t heed the theme warning posted on their T-shirts, they likely note them in the results.
And with individual and team state championships on their mind, the Bears are also looking for another possible first. They have high hopes of picking up the school’s first Northwest Conference championship. The league has been dominated by Benzie Central and Kingsley, schools with rich cross country histories.
“Watch out for Bears” just may have been set with the conference in mind. The recent track and cross country success won’t allow the Bears and Harrand to sneak up on anybody, pointed out second-year coach Jolie King.
“We didn’t ever have a chance because we’re competing against Benzie and Kingsley,” admitted King, who also has coached track and cross country for Bay City Western, Traverse City St. Francis and Kingsley. “They draw from 300 kids, and we have 118.
“We have a chance this year,” she continued. “(But) Benzie is going to be tough. You know Mylie (Kelly) is going to be amazing.”
The Regional and Final is really where the Bears have their sights. Kelly – who finished eighth in LP Division 3 last fall as a junior – and Benzie, along with Kingsley, will compete in Division 3. The Bears will see other conference teams, Frankfort and Glen Lake, in the Division 4 Regional the Bears are hosting Oct. 28.
By then, Buckley hopes to be on fire as demonstrated by its preseason team picture taken on a fire truck. The training plans are set with the Regional and Final meets in mind.
King said September’s plan is learning to run as team and focus on pacing as the Bears take on some pretty tough competition, including Hart and Traverse City St. Francis, two more top Division 3 teams in Northern Michigan. October will include speed work and seeing what the Bears are made of at the Portage Invitational, the coach revealed.
Harrand, the most decorated runner in Buckley’s history, has 11 teammates this fall. All the Bears are back from last year’s eighth-place finisher, plus they’ve added freshmen. They have been training all summer, meeting – and in many cases – exceeding King’s expectations.
Needless to say there is lots of excitement in Bear country. The season kicked off with a Glow Run, a team training experience commencing 12:01 AM on the first day MHSAA allowed practice for this season.
“I am giving myself goosebumps,” King noted as she talked about her 2023 team tapping its potential. “The girls have a goal to make the (Finals) podium this year.
“After (Harrand) winning the state title last spring, they know it is in their wheelhouse,” she continued. “They know they are capable of doing it.”
Harrand, of course, is expected to be the top runner again this fall. King is looking for sophomores Kayla Milarch, Brooklynn Frazee and Kinsey Peer to battle for the team’s 2-4 spots every meet. Addison Harrand, Aiden’s younger sister — also a sophomore— is projected to round out the team’s scoring regularly in the fifth spot.
Senior Natalie Halloway, junior Autumn Kelsey, sophomores Maddie Chilson and Allie Brimmer, along with incoming freshmen Kaylee Swanson and Mykayla Kulawiak, are also expected to figure in the Bears’ championship drive.
The Bears only boys team runner, sophomore Matthew Bentley, will train with the girls, giving the senior sensation the most cross country teammates she’s ever had.
“I used to say I guess I’ll go run by myself,” Aiden Harrand recalled. “Now I have 11 others to go run with me – this is kind of awesome.”
Harrand is expected to be challenged at Michigan International Speedway this fall, and she will welcome the competition as she focuses on a bigger personal goal – leading the Bears to the team championship.
“I have my work cut out for me, but I want it so bad,” the senior said. “I want to continue this trend.
“I want to do it for my girls and my team,” she continued. “I am going to be putting my best foot forward.”
If she had to accept either an individual or team Finals championship, she knows which one she’d take.
“I want the team one,” she said. “I think it is a bigger deal to be a part of a team to accomplish so much than to just do it individually.”
Harrand is very special to her coach.
“Every coach deserves an Aiden Harrand on their team,” King said. “She is bubbly … she makes everybody come together as a team … she demonstrates hard work … she’s really been such a leader … she encourages everybody.”
Harrand took fifth in the Division 4 Final as a freshman and was the runner-up as a sophomore. Across her 11 victories last season, Harrand had an average margin of victory of 34.5 seconds. She took the Division 4 top spot by nearly 15 seconds after winning her Regional by 49 seconds.
Last spring she finished first in every track event she entered, with Finals, Regional and Northwest Conference championships in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs.
Not surprisingly, Harrand owns an endless list of course and Buckley school track and cross country records.
But again, to her, team matters most.
“Her job for the team is to win meets,” King said. “But when she is done, she is on the line. She is coaching constantly. … She rubs off.”
And the sophomore Harrand really looks for her older sister to lead the team to success.
“It is really cool watching my sister do this and being able to support her at what she does,” Addisen pointed out. “Knowing she is going to be in the top five, and just having her do that goal and us follow, pushes us to be so much better as a team.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Buckley runners joke with coach Jolie King, far right, before a training run earlier this month. From left: Kinsey Peer, Brooklynn Frazee, Kayla Milarch, Aiden Harrand, and Addisen Harrand, with Allie Brimmer behind King. (Middle) The Bears’ team photo with a fire engine this fall is symbolic of the team’s “We’re on Fire” theme. From left: Coach Jolie King, Aiden Harrand, Natalie Halloway, Kinsey Peer (standing) Allie Brimmer (kneeling), Maddie Chilson (standing), Addisen Harrand (inside fire truck), Kayla Milarch (sitting), Matthew Bentley (standing) Autumn Kelsey (sitting), Kaylee Swanson (on truck), Mikayla Kulawiak (seated leaning forward) and Brooklynn Frazee (standing). (Below) The team takes a photo in front of a new course marker. From left: Kinsey Peer, Addisen Harrand, Brooklynn Frazee, Mikayla Kulawiak, Allie Brimmer, Kayla Milarch, Aiden Harrand, Kaylee Lown and Autumn Kelsey. Missing: Maddie Chilson, Natalie Halloway and Matthew Bentley. (Top photo by Tom Spencer. Fire engine photo by Amanda Patterson/Pattersnap. Course marker photo by Jolie King.)