Otsego Finishes Championship Climb, Holland Christian's Engbers Steps Into Top Spot
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 7, 2026
BROOKLYN – Otsego entered Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Girls Cross Country Final ranked No. 2 behind favorite and reigning champion Holland Christian, and that’s just how the Bulldogs wanted it.
Led by three all-state finishes, Otsego reversed the top two from the 2025 Final, scoring 84 points to edge the Maroons, who had 106.
“I was so excited,” Bulldogs sophomore Alayna Verhage said. “Our team was the underdog this time, and it was great to finally see our name at No. 1.”
Otsego now has won four Finals titles, all coming since 2015, to go with three runner-up finishes. This was the team's first championship since 2022.
The Bulldogs were able to pull off the win despite Holland Christian being led by individual champion Avery Engbers, who won the race in 17 minutes, 29.6 seconds.
“Our plan was to not be too cocky,” Verhage said. “We knew that we could definitely win and beat Holland Christian. We like being the underdog this year. Our goal was just to remember our why and do it for each other this year.”
Verhage was the top runner for the Bulldogs, finishing 13th overall and seventh in the team standings with a time of 18:09.7. Adelyn Verhage was 26th (15 in team scoring) at 18:30.9 and Addelyn Sabatke was 28th (16) at 18:34.1 to round out the all-state finishers for the champs.
The team race was won, however, at Nos. 4, 5 and 6, as Skylar Mejeur (21st in the team standings), Taylee Fox (25th ) and Addison Andress (27th) all finished ahead of the fourth runner for Holland Christian.
Engbers gave the Maroons a chance with her personal-best time which was the seventh-fastest run in a Division 2 Final. It was the third straight top 10 finish for the junior, as she was sixth a year ago and fourth in 2024 as a freshman.
She was in a battle with Holly’s Julia Bambach, who finished second in 17:33.9, as they were shoulder to shoulder entering the final stretch at Michigan International Speedway.
“Initially in the season, this wasn’t ever a goal of mine at all, but I’m really excited about it,” Engbers said. “Back by the 2-mile I was like, I know I can do it, and I just kind of had to keep repeating that to myself.”
After finishing, Engbers found each of her teammates as they came across the line, walking through the mass of humanity that is a big race finish to make sure each was OK.
“My team is super strong this year, which has been really fun,” Engbers said. “We all get to do workouts together and just build each other up. It’s super fun to be part of a team that’s really strong.”
PHOTOS (Top) Alayna Verhage (721) leads a pack and her team’s title pursuit Saturday at MIS. (Middle) Holland Christian’s Avery Engbers powers through the final stretch on the way to her first-place finish. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)
Grand Rapids Speedsters Dominate Division 2 Girls Cross Country Final
November 4, 2023
BROOKLYN — Emily Tomes of Grand Rapids Catholic Central might be the first MHSAA cross country champion to go all season without winning a meet until it mattered the most.
There are two good reasons for that.
First, she runs in the Grand Rapids area, which is a hotbed for high school cross country. Her biggest league rival, Selma Anderson of Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills, was the runner-up in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final on Saturday.
Second, she was adjusting all season to a significant change in her training volume.
As a result, she had five second-place finishes in nine races and didn’t run faster than 18:25.5 until her conference and Regional meets.
“I ramped up my miles, so my legs felt tired for a lot of my races,” Tomes said. “So, that’s why I recently started running sub-18. My legs started to get used to the mileage. I was just trying to wait until this meet. This is when I was going to try to run my best.”
Tomes was the Division 2 champion, running a time of 17:31.4 on a Michigan International Speedway course that yielded fast times all day.
She won a kick down the stretch against St. Joseph senior Gail Vaikutis, who took second in 17:33.6.
“I feel like I do rely on my kick quite a bit, but I just knew it could help me pass those girls and it gives me a lot of confidence moving forward, ” Tomes said. “I have a couple postseason meets, so I’m really looking forward to those.”
It was anyone’s race when a pack of five runners reached the two-mile mark within one second of one another. It was a two-runner race coming down the straightaway, with Tomes passing Vaikutis in the final tenth of a mile.
“I don’t normally run in packs,” Tomes said. “This season kind of started off slower for me, so I wasn’t used to racing with these girls. I know they know how to run really fast. If I could just let them carry me along, it would help me out.”
Grand Rapids Christian won the team championship with a score of 112 points. Last season’s champion Otsego was second with 131.
The Eagles won their seventh MHSAA championship and first since 2014.
Senior Natalie VanOtteren, who defeated Tomes by 17 seconds at Regionals, led Grand Rapids Christian by placing fifth in 17:58.2. Sophomore Lilah Poel was 20th, sophomore Ellie Scholma 30th, senior Payton Holtz 31st and senior Naomi Nelson 65th for the Eagles.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central's Emily Tomes, left, breaks away from St. Joseph's Gail Vaikutis during the closing stretch of the Division 2 Final. (Middle) Natalie VanOtteren leads Grand Rapids Christian's team title run with a fifth-place finish. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)