Preview: Changes Coming at the Top?
November 6, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
There could be a few changes on the trophy stand at the end of Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway.
But maybe not.
Reigning champions Birmingham Seaholm in Division 1, Grand Rapids Christian in Division 2 and Beal City in Division 4 all graduated pack leaders this spring – but remain among the top-three ranked teams in their respective divisions.
In an opposite scenario, two of the top three contenders in Division 3 didn’t run as a team at the Finals a year ago.
See below for the stories behind the team and individual races for all four divisions, and click for a full list of qualifiers for each and information on Saturday’s event – which this fall includes 975 girls.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Birmingham Seaholm
2014 runner-up: Traverse City Central
2015 top-ranked: 1. Birmingham Seaholm, 2. Northville, 3. Brighton.
Seaholm graduated its top three from the championship run including the top two individual finishers in the LP Division 1 race – but the next three runners last season all finished among the top eight at last week’s Regional, with junior Audrey Ladd second and senior Patty Girardot crossing third. Northville won LPD1 in 2013 and then finished third last season with only one senior among its seven runners; all seven Mustangs finished among the top 16 at last week's Regional, led by senior Lexa Barrott in second place. She was 15th at the 2014 Final, and junior Cayla Eckenroth was 11th. Brighton finished only ninth a year ago but with three freshmen, two sophomores and a junior making up the top six. All seven runners were among the top 19 at last week’s Regional, with senior Jenna Sica third.
Individuals: In addition to the Northville pair mentioned above, seven more are back from last year’s top 15. Macomb L’Anse Creuse sophomore Karenna Duffey, Port Huron senior Rachel Bonner and Traverse City Central sophomore Sielle Kearney took third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore Anne Forsyth was seventh and Romeo senior Emma Wilson was 10th. Wilson finished nine seconds ahead of Bonner at their Regional last week, and Kearney and Forsyth also won Regional titles – as did Farmington’s Maddy Trevisan and Grandville’s Madison Troy, who finished 12th and 13th at the 2014 Final. Milford junior Mallory Barrett, 17th last year, finished ahead of the Seaholm runners last week, and Royal Oak junior Grace Cutler and Saline sophomore Jessi Larson also broke 18 minutes in winning Regional races.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Grand Rapids Christian
2014 runner-up: Otsego
2015 top-ranked: 1. Otsego, 2. Grand Rapids Christian, 3. East Grand Rapids.
Otsego finished a distant second to Grand Rapids Christian a year ago, but with no seniors and six underclassmen. The Bulldogs took seven of the top 12 places at their Regional with junior Megan Aalberts finishing first – she’s a strong possibility to improve on her fourth place at last season’s Final. Christian has won two straight LPD2 titles and can’t be counted out, of course. The Eagles put all seven runners among the top 11 at their Regional with junior Megan Schenkel third and senior Claire Brouwer fourth; Brouwer was ninth individually at the 2014 Final. East Grand Rapids was fifth at the Final with five seniors, but placed four underclassmen among the top 11 finishers in dominating this season's Regional. Sophomore Kate O’Connell, the team’s fifth finisher at MIS last year, came in second at the Regional.
Individuals: Aalberts is the top returning finisher from a year ago and Brouwer was third-fastest among racers who will be back. Hamilton junior Erika Freyhof was seventh a year ago and Whitehall junior Maya Hector was 12th, and Freyhof outpaced Holland Christian junior Kayla Windemuller 18:46-18:52 in one of the fastest Regional finishes in the division. Flint Powers Catholic junior Julia Vanitvelt, St. Clair sophomore Gabrielle Morton, Gaylord senior Alexis Smith and Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills senior Madison Goen all broke 19 minutes to win Regionals; Goen ahead of the Grand Rapids Christian group and Smith ahead of Hector.
DIVISION 3
Reigning champion: Ithaca
2014 runner-up: Shepherd
2015 top-ranked: 1. Traverse City St. Francis, 2. Lansing Catholic, 3. Benzonia Benzie Central.
St. Francis as a team will join reigning individual champion Holly Bullough at the Final this season after taking the top four places at its Regional with Bullough leading the way in an incredible 17:15.4 and freshman Katelyn Duffing and junior Emmalyne Tarsa both breaking 19 minutes. Lansing Catholic is expected to take a jump from sixth last season with its top three back and after taking the top three places at its Regional led by sophomore Olivia Theis, who broke 19 minutes and also was the top finisher for the team in 2014. Benzie Central also didn’t run as a team at last year’s Final; now-senior Stephanie Schaub was 23rd as an individual qualifier. The Huskies were the Regional runner-up to St. Francis placing all seven runners among the top 20 and five among the top 13.
Individuals: Bullough is the clear favorite and only three others from last year’s top 15 are back – Hart junior Sierra Albus (ninth), Clare junior Jasmine Harper (11th) and Ithaca junior Courtney Allen (12th). Watch for a trio of freshmen: St. Louis’ Brooklyn Filipiak, Hart’s Adelyn Ackley and Shepherd’s Amber Gall all broke 19 minutes at their Regionals, the latter two finishing ahead of Harper and Albus.
DIVISION 4
Reigning champion: Beal City
2014 runner-up: Kalamazoo Hackett
2015 top-ranked: 1. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 2. Saugatuck, 3. Beal City.
Sacred Heart, third at the 2014 Final, has been a few steps ahead of two-time reigning champion Beal City this season and finished ahead of the Aggies again in winning their Regional. Irish junior Alexis McConnell finished individual runner-up a year ago and won the Regional in 18:53.9 as her team placed all seven runners among the top 11 and four of the top five. Beal City put five among the top 18 at the Regional, and senior Hannah Steffke leads the way after finishing sixth individually at MIS in 2014. Saugatuck was eighth at last year’s Final but paced by three underclassmen. Sophomore Paisley Sipes was the leader last year coming in 15th at the Final and won this year’s Regional followed by two more strong underclassmen – freshmen Thea Johnson and Rose O’Brien – as all seven runners came in among the top 12.
Individuals: Familiar faces will abound as 11 of last season’s top 15 will be back at MIS – including reigning champion Ava Strenge. The Battle Creek St. Philip junior dominated most of this season – but despite running an 18:50 at the Regional finished second by 10 seconds to Kalamazoo Hackett sophomore Mary Ankenbauer, who came in third individually at the 2014 Final. Waterford Our Lady senior Tessa Fornari, eighth last season, won in the fastest Regional time in the division at 18:27.3. Lutheran Westland senior Jenna Wisner, 10th last year, also won a Regional title, by nearly a minute.
The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s Alexis McConnell (1848), Battle Creek St. Phillip’s Ava Strenge (1972) and Waterford Our Lady’s Tessa Fornari (1912) finished among the top eight in LP Division 4 last season and are among strong favorites this weekend. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Dudek Obliterates 'Unbreakable' Record to lead Pioneer to Division 1 Sweep
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — When Rachel Forsyth of Ann Arbor Pioneer scorched the Michigan International Speedway cross country course in 16 minutes, 28.5 seconds in 2023, it looked like a record that would stand the test of time.
After all, it eclipsed the previous record by a whopping 23.6 seconds.
As it turns out, Forsyth’s seemingly unbreakable record stood for only two years.
Another Pioneer running prodigy, Natasza Dudek, gave spectators Saturday at MIS an awe-inspiring display of greatness by lowering the record to 16:09.5 to win the MHSAA Division 1 Finals championship.
That record might not last long either because Dudek is only a sophomore with two more chances to break the elusive 16-minute barrier.
“It really is an honor,” Dudek said. “I’m blessed to be out here healthy and able to run this fast. (Forsyth is) a former athlete here at Pioneer High School. I’m really proud of her record, as well. I’m really happy I could run this fast time out here.”
Forsyth is someone Dudek looks to for advice, but she isn’t the only mentor in her life. Dudek’s sister, Zofia, was the 2019 Division 1 champion.
“Rachel’s very sweet, very fast,” Dudek said. “I look up to her a lot. She sometimes comes out to our practices, gives us some tips. She’s a great person.
“Zofia is always out there for me. She’s always supporting me, always calling me, texting me, telling me no matter what happens, everything’s OK and she’s proud of me.”
Dudek’s time was not only an MIS record, but the fastest time in the country this season. Junior Sophia Rodriguez of Mercer Island in Washington has run 16:10.0.
By the mile mark, Dudek held a 16.5-second lead with her split of 5:09.6. She hit the two-mile mark in 10:28.8, extending her lead to 31.6 seconds. She wound up well ahead of Okemos sophomore Rachel Smith, who ran an outstanding time of 17:04.7 that would’ve been the 10th-fastest in MIS history coming into the meet.
Dudek has gotten used to producing eye-popping times while running solo up front. She had only one close race all season, winning by 8.2 seconds over Saturday’s Division 2 champion Emma Hoffman of Otsego in the Spartan Invitational Elite race.
“Everybody out here, the atmosphere, they push me so much,” Dudek said. “In my head, I’m always just motivating myself to really step it up, every mile, every 100 meters in the race. I always think of my teammates, how they’re doing, how they’re giving it their all, so I really want to keep up with that.”
Her teammates are pretty fast in their own right, fast enough to win the Pioneers’ seventh MHSAA Finals championship and first since 2021.
The battle for the team championship was much closer, with Pioneer scoring 96 points to beat two-time defending champion Romeo by seven.
The Pioneers had four runners break 18 minutes. Following Dudek across the line were Sienna Klemmer (eighth, 17:38.8), Hana Boggess (13th, 17:56.9) and Keira Von Blon (14th, 17:57.2). Lizzie Wernimont took 90th overall in 19:04.2 to complete the Pioneers’ score.
Romeo put three runners in the top 10, with Annie Hrabovsky taking third in 17:22.1, Ella Goodsell sixth in 17:29.3 and Natalia Guaresimo 10th in 17:47.6.
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Natasza Dudek approaches the finish line Saturday as she completes the fastest race in MHSAA Finals history. (Middle) The Pioneers’ Hana Boggess (9) and Keira Von Blon (14) run with a one of the fastest packs during the Division 1 race. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)