Preview: Familiar Favorites Seek to Set Pace Again at Girls LPXC Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 6, 2026
Three 2025 team champions are predicted to reign again, and three returning individual winners will seek to do the same at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway.
Ann Arbor Pioneer in Division 1 and Holland Christian in Division 2 are seeking second-straight team titles, Lansing Catholic in Division 3 is looking to run its championship streak to three. Whitmore Lake won Division 4 the last three seasons and is ranked No. 2 this time – but a win Saturday would make the Trojans just the fifth Lower Peninsula program to claim at least four consecutive Finals team championships.
The individual races could be paced by similarly powerful favorites. Pioneer’s Natasza Dudek in Division 1, Jackson Lumen Christi’s Samantha Schroeder in Division 3 and Whitmore Lake’s Kaylie Livingston in Division 4 are running to repeat – Livingston for her third-straight title – and St. Johns’ Ava Schafer in Division 2 also is seeking a second championship after winning her first two years ago.
See below for several more team and individual contenders. The "season bests" list referred to frequently is a ranking list of every runner's best time this season, maintained by Athletic.net. The first girls race, in Division 4, begins at 10:50 a.m.; click here for the full schedule and ticket information.
Additionally, all eight races Saturday at MIS will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on the NFHS Network: Divisions 1 & 2 | Divisions 3 & 4.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2025 runner-up: Romeo
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Northville, 3. Ann Arbor Skyline.
Pioneer regained the championship last season after back-to-back Romeo titles, finishing seven points ahead of the runner-up Bulldogs, and this time Pioneer is the favorite to repeat and claim what would be a fifth Division 1 championship over the last eight seasons. Pioneer graduated only one runner from last year’s Finals lineup, and the three fastest times in any division this season have been run by junior Natasza Dudek (16:14.9), sophomore Keira Von Blon (16:47.9) and junior Sienna Klemmer (16:50.2). Dudek is the reigning individual champion, with Klemmer placing eighth and Von Blon 14th last season. Northville placed four of the top nine at its Regional last week, led by sophomore individual winner Alexandra Scappaticci, who ran seventh at last year’s Final as her team finished fourth. Skyline finished fifth a year and returns its top four runners from that day, and senior Isla Tharp ran first to lead a Regional effort that saw the Eagles place six of the top seven.
Individuals: Dudek has won every race she’s run over the last two years, and her 16:09.5 to claim last season’s Division 1 championship is the fastest time in Finals 5K history. Okemos junior Rachel Smith also is undefeated this season after finishing runner-up to Dudek at MIS last fall, and she ranks sixth on the Division 1 top times list right behind Romeo senior Annie Hrabovsky, last year’s third-place finisher at the Final. Midland Dow junior Emilia Garces (fourth), Rochester Adams senior El McMahan (fifth), Scappaticci, Klemmer and Zeeland East junior Adalyn Raab (ninth) also return from last year’s top 10 to make this field deep and talented, led by arguably the top runner in Michigan high school history.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Holland Christian
2025 runner-up: Otsego
Top-ranked: 1. Holland Christian, 2. Otsego, 3. Grand Rapids Christian.
Five of Holland Christian’s top six runners from last season’s championship lineup will be racing again this weekend, led by junior Avery Engbers and senior Eliana Stob, who placed individually sixth and 17th, respectively, a year ago. Engbers (17:36.2) ranks fourth on the Division 2 fastest times list this fall, and Stob (18:20.6) ranks 19th. Otsego finished only six points off the lead last year, its second runner-up finish since winning its most recent championship in 2022. Reigning individual champion Emma Hoffman graduated but the Bulldogs return their next five runners from that lineup led by sophomore Alayna Verhage, who placed 20th in 2025. Grand Rapids Christian finished third a year ago, was champion most recently in 2023, and returns four from its 2025 Finals lineup.
Individuals: Ludington sophomore Eliza Schwass made headlines with her track performances in the spring, but she also impressed with her cross country debut last fall. She finished third to two seniors at last year’s Final and ranks 11th on the Division 2 top times list with a best of 18:01.3. St. Johns senior Ava Schafer tops that list with a 17:22, and she’s seeking a second Finals championship after placing first in 2024 and then seventh a year ago. Hastings senior Caroline Randall (fourth), Pinckney senior Jaelyn Ray (fifth), Engbers and Ludington senior Annabelle Lowman (eighth) also are back from last season’s top 10. Freshmen Natalya Hoffman from Plainwell (17:29.8) and Clara Cook from DeWitt (17:49.4) rank second and seventh, respectively, on the top times list in this division and should impact the race.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Lansing Catholic
2025 runner-up: Pewamo-Westphalia
2026 top-ranked: 1. Lansing Catholic, 2. Lake City, 3. Traverse City St. Francis.
Lansing Catholic has won the last two Division 3 championships, with P-W second by only 11 points in 2024 but more than a 100 last fall. Lake City didn’t qualify for the Finals last year but is expected to provide the greatest challenge in seeking its first top-two finish, and St. Francis placed second in 2023 and is seeking its first title since 2022. The Cougars return five runners from last season including sixth-place junior Josie Bishop, seventh-place senior Grace Wonch, 11th-place sophomore Anna Drauer and 17th-place junior Isabelle Currie. Bishop ranks sixth on the Division 3 top times list with a best of 18:25.3, and Drauer is 14th at 18:48.5. Lake City has a high-ranking pair of freshmen on that list in Isadora Shaw eighth (18:30.6) and Aubrey Doan 16th (18:50.7), and St. Francis brings back four runners from last season’s eighth-place team and also is led by a freshman, Maggie Mohrhardt, who ranks 17th with a top time of 18:52.2.
Individuals: Jackson Lumen Christi senior Samantha Schroeder won last year’s race by four seconds and has the second-fastest top time in Division 3 at 17:59. She trails only McBain junior Caelyn Torry, who was timed in 17:38.7 at her Regional and could make a tremendous jump after finishing 19th at last year’s Final. Senior Alyssa Kramer will attempt to put P-W in team contention again after finishing fourth last season, and also returning from the 2025 top 10 are Olivet junior Tiya Feldpausch (fifth), Lansing Catholic’s Bishop and Wonch, and Kent City junior Elliana Max. Feldpausch ranks third on the top times list at 18:07.8, which placed her second to Schroeder at their Regional, and LeRoy Pine River junior Madisyn Wanstead also could make a massive jump from 46th last season as her top time this fall of 18:21 ranks fourth.
Division 4
Reigning champ: Whitmore Lake
2025 runner-up: Hillsdale Academy
2026 top-ranked: 1. Hillsdale Academy, 2. Whitmore Lake, 3. Onekama.
Whitmore Lake has won three straight Division 4 team championships and outpaced Hillsdale Academy last year by 18 points. Two-time reigning individual winner Kaylie Livingston will run for one more as a senior and sets the pace at the top of the Trojans’ lineup with the fastest time in Division 4 this fall of 17:56.4. Two more runners also return for Whitmore Lake, with junior Malynda Lambros 11th on the top times list (19:27.3). But Hillsdale Academy – which also finished runner-up in 2022 – is expected to surpass the Trojans this time with four runners back from a year ago and led by senior Evelyn Meyer, who ranks eighth (19:16.4) on the top times list and finished 15th last fall. Onekama didn’t run as a team at last year’s Final but did place three returning individuals among the top 45, with junior Callie Sinke leading the way in eighth. She has the third-fastest top time in Division 4 this season at 18:04.3.
Individuals: Livingston edged Gobles senior Libby Smith by 2.4 seconds a year ago, and this weekend’s race could look similar as Smith’s fastest time of 17:57.7 is just 1.3 seconds off Livingston’s fastest pace – and Smith was first and Livingston second in the Portage Invitational Division 4 race on Oct. 10. Leland junior Sophia Grinage was only 12.5 seconds back in fourth last season and will run again, as will Kingston sophomore Norah Kiley (fifth), Martin senior Veyda Conley (sixth), Holland Calvary Christian freshman Faith Schipper (seventh while running as an eighth grader) and Gobles senior Lauren Shaffer (ninth).
PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Alyssa Kramer (503) sets the pace early on the way to winning her Division 3 Regional on Saturday at Bath. (Middle) Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Gwyn Faber (175) and Grand Rapids Christian’s Zoe Hoekstra lead the Oct. 21 Ottawa-Kent Conference White championship race; Hoekstra would finish first and Faber second. (Top photo by John Johnson. Middle photo by Michigan Sports Media.)
Potential Realized, Otsego Runs for More
September 22, 2015
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
OTSEGO – Megan Aalberts was in middle school when she first realized the potential of her classmates and what their future running days could look like.
“Going into sixth grade and middle school, I could already see that the girls in my grade and a year behind me were really talented and super hard-working,” said Aalberts, a junior on Otsego High School’s girls cross country team. “We had a pretty good season in middle school, and then coming into high school and making it to state our first year was an incredible experience. We wanted to keep it going, and I’m hoping this year is really awesome.”
The Bulldogs have experienced unbridled success at the state level the past two seasons under coach Steve Long, a teacher at the school.
Otsego placed third in Lower Peninsula Division 2 at the MHSAA Finals in 2013 and was runner-up a year ago to Grand Rapids Christian.
Those were the top two Finals finishes in program history – and seem to have set the tone as an experienced group has begun its pursuit of the program's first MHSAA title.
The Bulldogs have shown consistency over the past decade, qualifying seven times for the LP Finals and recording five top-10 finishes. But last season’s accomplishment was built on youth, as there were no seniors among the top seven. All but one of that top seven returned this fall.
“We have a lot of experience, and most of the girls have quite a bit of state meet experience,” Long said. “It’s a huge advantage that these girls know what to expect and how to perform well on the big stage. We’re mixing in a few young runners and they’re feeding off the underclassmen. We’re excited to see what they can do.”
This year’s group remains young with Madison Secord as the lone senior.
She joins a talented collection of juniors and sophomores, spearheaded by Aalberts, a junior who placed third overall at last year’s MHSAA championship meet.
“It was a really exciting feeling to know that everyone was coming back,” Aalberts said. “We just know that every day we’re going to try our hardest and push each other. Expectations are pretty high for our team, and our goal is to compete the best we can every day.”
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 2 in LP Division 2 this week behind Grand Rapids Christian, have achieved early success and gone unbeaten in the Wolverine Conference.
They also won the 16-team St. Joseph Invitational and followed that with a victory at the Paw Paw Invitational.
The squad also features juniors Erica Drobny, Sophia Hirzel and Katie Theis. The sophomores include Maddie Marciniak and Gracie VerHage. Freshman Sydney Kubiak also is in the mix.
“I’m very happy with where we’re at, and we’re trying to stay focused on improving and getting better,” Long said. “The challenge this year is to not think we need to be perfect. We just have to focus on ourselves and what we can do.
“Go out there and try to do the best we can and run the way we always run. And that’s by having fun and loving what we do. I think they’re doing a really good job of that.”
Drobny, who was 27th at last year’s MHSAA Final, said there is some pressure to add to the program’s prior successes.
“There is a little bit of pressure, but now we can count on each other to work hard and not let each other down,” she said. “Having everyone back is helpful because we all have the same energy as last year and the same motivation and dedication. The state meet is our main focus, and that’s what we’re striving for.”
A couple key components of the Bulldogs are their competitive nature and close bond.
“How the girls get along has a huge impact on how we end up at the end of the season,” Long said. “The girls are a bunch of sisters and they love each other, but they are willing to go out and compete against each other when they are racing. It’s a good atmosphere.”
Aalberts said she and her teammates don’t go their separate ways at the end of the season. Instead, they stay connected through different events.
“We’re definitely like a family,” she said. “We’re super supportive of each other, and we’re really close. We had a Christmas party and Valentine’s Day party, so we are just in contact with each other after the season ends.”
Added Drobny: “We’re super close, and we spend so much time together at morning and afternoon practices. We run together in the offseason and in the summer, and that helps because we motivate each other to run faster and to beat each other.”
Although the Otsego is one of the smaller schools in Division 2, it still showcases depth. All 10 of the girls on the team clock times under 21 minutes.
“We’re pretty deep for a small school,” Long said. “And the goal continues to get better. We were second last year, but if we’re not better, then we’re still not going to be at the top of the podium.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Otsego's Megan Aalberts rounds the final curve at Michigan International Speedway on her way to a third-place finish at last season's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) Erica Drobny, middle, runs with a pack on the way to finishing 27th. (Below) The Bulldogs pose with last season's MHSAA runner-up trophy; six of the top seven runners are back this fall. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)