Preview: Be Prepared for Speedy Start
October 20, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Of 30 runners who finished among the top 10 in an Upper Peninsula Girls Cross Country Final last season, 18 will be returning for another championship opportunity Saturday at Pictured Rocks Golf Club in Munising.
And if that’s not sign enough that the competition will be high caliber, consider this – the two reigning champions returning will face off in the first race.
This year’s Finals kick off with the Division 3 girls, and it’s hard to imagine a better opener for reasons discussed more below – including what could be the day’s strongest individual and team competitions for either the girls or boys.
Races begin at 11 a.m. and finish with the Division 1 boys at 1:30 p.m. Check back Saturday evening for coverage of all six Upper Peninsula Finals, and see below for more teams and individuals to watch.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Sault Ste. Marie
2016 runner-up: Marquette
2017 top-ranked: 1. Sault Ste. Marie, 2. Marquette, 3. Negaunee.
This season’s Sault Ste. Marie team lines up much differently from the one that claimed the program’s first MHSAA title a year ago – when all six runners finished among the top 13. But sophomore Shelby Eavou is back after finishing ninth and sophomore Nicky Kucharczyk joins her after coming in 12th, and two freshmen have entered the mix with Haleigh Knowles topping the team with a seventh-place at the prestigious El Harger Invitational in September. Knowles and her teammates will have to fend off a Marquette team that returns only two of seven from last year’s Final but is led by sophomore Ericka Asmus, who finished 10th and won the Great Northern Conference meet last week. Negaunee is paced by its top three from last year’s team that finished sixth, including sophomore Emily Paupore and senior Clara Johnson – who came in third and fourth, respectively, among individual placers.
Other individuals: In addition to the five from last season’s top 10 who will return this weekend, Escanaba freshman Nicole Kamin could be one to watch Saturday and for the next three Finals after she finished second to Asmus at the GNC finale. Calumet freshman Clarity Gipp also should be in the mix over these next four Finals; she finished second at the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference meet and won one of the league jamborees this fall.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Ishpeming
2016 runner-up: Munising
2017 top-ranked: 1. St. Ignace, 2. Ishpeming, 3. Hancock.
St. Ignace is fresh of a sweep of Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference jamborees and is predicted to break Ishpeming’s three-year hold on the Division 2 title. The Saints finished fourth last season and return only two of five runners from that race, but they placed the top four runners at that final EUP jamboree as freshman Hallie Marshall led the way. The Hematites won last year in part on the strength of depth with all seven runners placing between ninth and 20th. Five of those seven are back, led by senior Kayla Kaukola and junior Brooke Johnson, who led the way in 2016 coming in ninth and 10th, respectively. Hancock returns its top five and six of its seven runners from last season’s third-place finish, with sophomore Mackenna Nuttall looking to break into the top 10 after coming in 11th a year ago.
Individuals: With Munising and its champion and runner-up from last year’s race moving to Division 3 this season, only four of the 2016 top 10 are back. Finishing ahead of Kaukola and Johnson last year were Ironwood’s Emily Carey in fifth and Iron River West Iron County’s Taylor Clark in seventh; both are juniors this season.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Cedarville
2016 runner-up: Chassell
2017 top-ranked: 1. Chassell, 2. Munising, 3. Engadine.
Cedarville ended Chassell’s two-year winning streak last season, edging the Panthers by 12 points. But Chassell has stormed back this fall and is led by five runners from last year’s lineup including reigning UPD3 champion Lela Rautiola, now a junior, and freshman Gwen Kangas, who came in ninth last year as an eighth-grader. Munising will certainly provide a challenge after finishing second in UPD2 last year. The Mustangs have five of last year’s seven runners in the lineup for this weekend, led by last season’s UPD2 individual champion, senior Alyssa Webber, and runner-up now-junior Madeleine Peramaki. Those two and Rautiola finished within six seconds of each other at the El Harger Invitational, Peramaki the fastest of the three. Cedarville does return three runners who placed among the top 10 and four of its seven total from last year, and could sneak into contention despite being an honorable mention in the latest UPD3 ranking.
Individuals: Webber’s 19:59 last year would’ve won the race by 13 seconds, and Peramaki would’ve placed fourth individually. Cedarville adds junior Caroline Freel, sophomore Lily Freel and freshman Cassidy Barr into the mix after they crossed sixth, eighth and 10th in UPD3, respectively, last season. Rock Mid-Peninsula sophomore Daisy Englund is back after finishing seventh, and Eben Junction Superior Central sophomore Danika Walters will look to move up after finishing fourth. And as mentioned, Rautiola is the reigning champ and Kangas was ninth – making it nine runners total competing in this race who were top-10 in one of the Finals last season.
PHOTOS: (Top) Negaunee’s Clara Johnson (691) and Emily Paupore (692) lead Marquette’s Ericka Asmus during the Aug. 31 Dale Phillips Invitational at Marquette. Asmus would end up winning the race, with Johnson second and Paupore third. (Middle) Munising’s Madeleine Peramaki (686) and Alyssa Webber (688) came in fourth and fifth, respectively, at the Phillips Invitational. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
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.)