One More Shot at No. 1
December 16, 2011
Nervousness is part of Spencer Nousain's pre-race preparation.
“I’m scared I’m going to lose,” he said earlier this week, just days before his final high school cross country race -- Saturday's MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final at Michigan International Speedway.
And it seems a little odd, considering his resume.
The Concord senior has never finished lower than 10th at an MHSAA Finals. So far this fall, he's placed first in every race but one – Michigan State’s Spartan Invitational, where he was seventh in the “Elite” race against many of the state’s best from all divisions.
But if Nousain is first to cross the finish line for the Division 4 Final, he won’t celebrate right away. Instead, he’ll turn around and wait.
There’s definitely a pressure in having one last chance to win an MHSAA title. But Nousain has poured that into his team, which he is focused on leading to its second team championship in three seasons.
“I think the team relaxes me. If I focus on helping my teammates, that takes the pressure off of me,” Nousain said. “That’s the one thing I have changed. I’m a little more concerned about team this year.”
The Yellow Jackets have followed their leader to a spotless team record so far, including a Regional win without him. Concord is ranked No. 1 in Division 4 by MichiganCrossCountry.com’s coaches panel.
Nousain is fresh off his second-straight championship at the Jensen Memorial meet, which pits all of the Jackson-area cross country teams. He crushed the field in 16:05.7, 35 seconds faster than the runner-up. It's been that kind of fall, coming off last year’s state final when Nousain ran a 15:51.7.
Leading and following is nothing new for him. He’s the seventh of nine children in a running family. All but one of the first six ran high school cross country, and three of his siblings have gone on to run at the college level.
Unintentionally, Nousain’s sitting out the Regional allowed younger brother Mason, a sophomore, to place as Concord’s fifth runner that day. Mason has been the recipient of some of Spencer’s best lessons.
Starting in seventh grade, Nousain began training hard during the winter even as some of Concord’s high school runners were a little less serious, Yellow Jackets coach David Jordon said. Nousain has imparted that work ethic on his younger brother, and also become a target for some of the team’s younger runners to chase during practices.
“He wants to go out and run a great race, and everybody would love to win. But more of his focus is on how his teammates do,” Jordon said. “He’s definitely matured and seen the bigger picture. It’s exciting to win, but when the team wins, it’s more exciting.”
That might add some of the anxiety Nousain feels of late. Family, friends and others in the community expect him to lead Concord to another MHSAA team championship. But when Saturday’s starting gun goes off, he’ll only be able to control his race – and use the lessons he learned himself during the two near-misses.
The first time Nousain took second at an MHSAA Final, he was excited. The only runner to cross the finish line ahead of him was teammate Kyle Stacks, and their Concord team had just won the 2009 overall championship.
The second time Nousain finished second – a year ago this weekend – Nousain was a little disappointed. He’d expected to be first. He didn’t feel like he improved at all.
On Saturday, he has one more chance. And only one way to get better individually, although he’ll still celebrate coming in second if his team comes in first. He’ll race as he has all fall – start smart, close hard in the last mile, and then watch for more purple coming soon after.
“It’s going to be amazing. I love watching not just Mason, but my teammates improve,” Spencer said.
“In the sense of watching them be happy, when we win as a team, I’ll be happy. It makes me proud to say I helped them.”
One race, two champions, more contenders
The most competitive of Saturday’s races could be the Division 2 girls final. The field includes reigning individual champion Rachele Schulist of Zeeland West, last season’s third place finisher Megan O’Neil of Remus Chippewa Hills and fourth-place Julia Bos of Grand Rapids Christian.
Also in Division 2 this time is Allendale and Ali Wiersma, last season’s Division 3 MHSAA champion. Bos (17:43.2), Wiersma (17:59) and Schulist (18:19) were the top three, respectively, at last Saturday’s Regional at Allendale.
O’Neil (18:03.55) was third at the Benzie Central Regional behind two more runners who could break into the top group this weekend, including the possible favorite: Cedar Springs freshman Kenzie Weiler won that Regional in 17:13.07, and her junior sister Katie was runner-up in 17:57.55.
Final countdown
Also in Division 2, in the boys race, Chelsea senior Bryce Bradley will try to finish with a championship after improving from 20th as a freshman to 10th and then to runner-up last season.
At last year's final, he finished less than a second ahead of Dearborn Divine Child’s Nicholas Soter, who also will be back at MIS. They'll both might have to fend off Mason Tanner Hinkle, who beat Bradley by 19 seconds in their Regional.
Fast start
Only 15 girls have won at least three MHSAA cross country individual championships. But Breckenridge sophomore Kirsten Olling has lots of time – and at least a few opportunities.
Olling won last season’s Division 4 championship in 18:09.8. Fast forward to last weekend’s regional at Harbor Beach, which she won in 17:17 – more than 2 minutes faster than the runner-up.
Click for Saturday's schedule and race information, all Lower Peninsula finalists and links to regional results, and check back Saturday for coverage from MIS. Go online to FoxSportsDetroit.com for live coverage via the Finish Line Camera and live audio commentary throughout the race from reporters around the course.
PHOTOS
(Top) Concord's Spencer Nousain will attempt to win his first MHSAA championship after finishing runner-up in Division 2 the last two seasons (Photo courtesy of Concord cross country program).
(Middle) Zeeland West's Rachele Schulist (1001) emerged from the pack -- including Grand Rapids Christian's Julia Bos (829) to claim last season's Division 2 championship.
(Bottom): Breckenridge's Kirsten Olling won last season's Division 4 championship as a freshman.
Together Since Middle School, Gobles' Record-Setting 4 Building On Historic Run
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
September 24, 2025
GOBLES — When coach Marc Kline first met Libby Smith, he thought the sixth grader did not have much potential as a runner.
Was he wrong.
Over the next few years, Kline noticed “there was a seriousness about her from seventh, eighth and beyond. You could just see even then, she’s going to be good, and she is good.”
“Good” is an understatement.
Last year as a sophomore, Smith finished third at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Cross Country Final. Her time of 18:26.4 helped lead Gobles to a sixth-place finish, the Tigers’ best in school history.
Since then, she has been chipping away, trying to get below the 18-minute mark.
She is getting closer, recording a personal record 18:07.0 to win Saturday’s Pewamo-Westphalia Invitational. Smith has now won six of the team’s last eight meets and finished second in the other two.
“I like the running part and the training,” said Smith, who lifts weights five days a week and runs on her own after school practices.
On those solo runs, “My mom (Casey) follows me on an electric scooter,” she said. “My dad (Mitchell) does, too. They take turns riding with me, and I like that.”
In practice, Smith trains with three buddies, and the four have been running friends since middle school.
“We’re the only ones in our grades who run, so we are like a tight little group of runners since sixth grade,” Smith said.
Her “little group” also consists of senior Madison Cooley and juniors Lauren Shaffer and Ava DeYoung.
“All four of them are our top four in Gobles history,” Kline said. “They all set the school record in (girls) cross. That’s like the perfect storm from my perspective. That’s amazing.”
Every time Smith runs another personal best, she breaks her own school record. Currently, Shaffer is second-best at 19:33.4, also a personal record recorded Saturday. DeYoung (19:48.2) is third in the record book and Cooley (20:33.7) fourth.
All four runners passed the former top mark of 20:41.5 set by Cheyenne Allyn-White in 2014.
“We all started so young, and that really helped and we all improved together,” DeYoung said. “When one person improved, you wanted to stick with them, you wanted to just keep pushing. We all worked together, and we all improved together.”
Sophomores Addison Tomsic and Alyssa Sparks plus freshman Taylor Cooley round out the team.
The only senior, Madison Cooley is also team captain.
“It definitely makes a lot more responsibility,” she said. “I had to make shirts for the team, have to make sure they’re doing all the warmups and cool downs.
“Sometimes I have to keep myself in check and be positive all the time. Sometimes it’s pretty hard.”
Facing her last season on the team, Cooley said it’s important to stay in the moment.
“You have to cherish the moments,” she said. “Our captain last year (Zoie Wood) was a senior and was on my team since eighth grade.”
Kline said Cooley has been fun to watch in the leadership role this season.
“Her leadership skills have improved so much,” he said. “She’s very critical to the team.
“She’s planning to run track (in college). It’s really amazing to watch a sprinter take on a 5k role.”
While Smith led the team to the Finals last fall, Shaffer, who finished 33rd (20:45.5), was second on the team.
The junior started running at a very early age when her dad, Eric Shaffer, coached cross country at Gobles.
“I used to come to the practices after school,” she said. “I followed them around and have been running since then.
“A lot (of success) is being consistent, (training) over the winter and summer so you’re always running.”
Kline said Shaffer is gritty and shy.
“She loves her family a ton,” he said. “I can see a special relationship between her and her dad, which is really fun to see. She has a lot of talent as well.”
DeYoung, who started running in middle school, said the fab four instantly clicked.
“It was really fun and I just stuck with it,” she said. “We have such a unique bond together. We do easy runs together when we can just talk about our day.
“There are other times when it’s a good pace and (Smith) goes off ahead. It’s so fun to see her do so good. It makes us all so proud of her. I would say it inspires us to do better because we all want to strive to be more like what she’s doing.”
DeYoung suffered four stress fractures of the tibia as a freshman and is still working her way back to peak form.
“I had a lot of support from my teammates,” she said. “Even when I was struggling and having hard times, they were always there for me.
“I really enjoy running and enjoy running with my teammates, and I wanted to get better. Even with the setbacks, I was working and striving to get better all the time.”
Kline said DeYoung is one of the hardest workers on the team.
“Her integrity level is so high,” he said. “I appreciate her. (Because of the injuries), she’s not been able to hit where she was early and is coming around really well this year.”
All four also run track during the spring, and while both sports involve running, Kline said track and cross country are like night and day.
“Cross country, everyone’s focused on one event, training, goals,” the coach said. “It’s all unified, and there’s a great sense of family that can develop from that team.
“In track, there’s 17 different events, people get so scattered. It’s really difficult in one sense to get that team feel in track, so that’s a big difference.”
Looking at this cross country season, “I am so excited about the opportunity we have this year,” Kline said. “Their buy-in, their interest and their love for each other.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Gobles runners including Madison Cooley, front left, and Libby Smith warm up at the Portage Early Bird Invitational this season. (2) Gobles girls cross country coach Marc Kline. (3) Smith and Cooley are joined by, from far left, Ava DeYoung and Lauren Shaffer. (4) Smith runs at Portage. (Portage photos by Miles Postema. Coach and group photos by Pam Shebest.)