Pioneer Adds to Legendary Run, Placing Top 3 All with Times Among All-Time Fastest
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 7, 2026
BROOKLYN – Natasza Dudek has made a lot of Michigan cross country history during her three seasons at Ann Arbor Pioneer.
But Saturday, she had company.
Dudek and teammates Keira Von Blon and Sienna Klemmer finished first, second and third at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Cross Country Final, leading Pioneer to a second-straight championship.
Dudek, the reigning Finals and national champion, won in 16 minutes, 26.6 seconds, followed by Von Blon in 16:49.8 and Klemmer at 16:54.7.
“It was such a fun race, and it’s been such a fun season,” Von Blon said. “I think there was a lot of pressure on us to go 1-2-3 because we’ve been doing it this whole year. But I think that we really used that pressure, we really worked together. We were pushing each other through the race. I love racing with them, they push me so much. None of this would have been possible without any of them.”
The trio were the first teammates to go 1-2-3 in a cross country Final since the Wyoming Potter’s House Christian boys did so in Division 4 in 2022. It hasn’t happened in the top division on the girls side since 1983, when Dearborn Edsel Ford accomplished the feat.
But the Pioneer girls did so while running the second, fifth and eighth-fastest times in MHSAA Finals history.
“I feel like even last season we had some pressure on our backs, and I’m just so happy that we were able to really just use it and not crush under these big environments,” said Dudek, who has now run the two fastest times in MHSAA Finals history. “It’s hard to not choke at states. But our team is just so great, we’re always there for each other.”
Romeo’s Annie Hrabovsky was the first non-Pioneer finisher, coming in at 17:07.5, which itself would have been the 11th-fastest all-time Division 1 finish before Saturday. Zeeland East’s Adalyn Raab rounded out the top five with a 17:25.7.
Pioneer finished with 87 points, well ahead of Ann Arbor Skyline which was second at 191. The title was the eighth for Pioneer, tying it for second most all-time with East Grand Rapids.
Nina Moore was 47th overall for Pioneer, and 34th among team scorers, with a time of 18:37.6, while Eliza Selcer was 63rd (47th) with a time of 18:48.8.
“People are always asking us about our mileage and the key to our success,” Klemmer said. “We just come out here and have so much fun with each other, just hanging out with each other. That’s kind of the key to our success. We goof around at practice, we goof around at the meets. That’s the whole point of this, to have fun and enjoy ourselves, and we’re so incredibly proud of every single one of the girls on this team.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Natasza Dudek finishes her second-straight championship run Saturday at MIS. (Middle left) Teammate Keira Von Blon charges toward the finish. (Middle right) Pioneer’s Sienna Klemmer powers through the final stretch. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)
Theis Leads Cougars, Leaves a Legend
November 4, 2017
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN — Of the thousands of girls who have run in the MHSAA Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway, only one had ever broken the 17-minute barrier.
Winning the 2009 Lower Peninsula Division 1 meet in 16:54.8 just a month before winning the national Foot Locker championship made Rochester’s Megan Goethals a legend in the sport.
So, where does that put Olivia Theis?
Theis, a senior at Lansing Catholic, took down Goethals’ record by blistering a muddy MIS course in 16:52.1 to win the Division 2 title. Her performance also led the Cougars to the team championship.
“I didn’t expect it, especially coming in as a freshman,” Theis said. “I just had no idea how good I could be. I think my team has definitely pushed me to be the best I could be.”
It was the first individual title for Theis, who improved from 19th as a freshman to ninth as a sophomore to second as a junior when Lansing Catholic ran in Division 3.
Defending champion Kayla Windemuller of Holland Christian stayed with Theis until the second mile. A 5:29 second mile, followed by a 5:11 third mile, allowed Theis to break the record and win by a landslide.
“I didn’t know if she was going to come with me or not,” Theis said.
Mason junior Cecilia Stalzer was second in 17:35.9, Lansing Catholic junior Lauren Cleary was third in 17:43.7 and Windemuller was fourth in 17:50.8.
Lansing Catholic beat Grand Rapids Christian, 77-145, for the team title. DeWitt took third with 197 points.
Sophomore Jaden Theis was sixth (18:18.7), senior Grace Frost was 33rd (19:15.2) and sophomore Rachel Reid was 63rd (19:15.2) for the Cougars.
“We knew going in we were going to have to race really hard, and that’s just what we did,” Cleary said.
It was the first MHSAA championship for Lansing Catholic, which took second in Division 3 in 2000 and 2016.
Olivia Theis and Frost ran in all four meets as the Cougars progressed from sixth place in 2014 to fourth in 2015 to second last year.
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Catholic’s Olivia Theis charges by a mile marker en route to the fastest 5K time in MHSAA Finals history. (Middle) The Cougars’ Lauren Cleary (1395) leads Mason’s Cecilia Stalzer (1422) early in the Division 2 race; they’d finish third and second, respectively. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)