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.)
Calumet's Kiilunen Wins 4th U.P. Final
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 20, 2012
MUNISING — Tara Kiilunen was nearly overcome with emotion shortly after the conclusion of the Division 1 race at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals at Pictured Rocks Golf & Country Club.
The Calumet High School senior became the first girl to be crowned U.P. champion for the fourth consecutive year, covering the 3.1-mile course in 19 minutes, 44.7 seconds.
“This is an amazing feeling for me,” she said. “Each year you win it, there’s more pressure. This was probably the most nervous I was for a race. I just appreciate the efforts of our coaches and my family. They’ve always been supporting me. I’m grateful for everything.”
Calumet, which placed four among the top eight, was crowned team champion for the third time in four years with 41 points, followed by Escanaba with 62, Sault Ste. Marie with 84 and defending champion Marquette with 96.
For more than 2.5 miles, however, it looked as though Kiilunen would be forced to settle for the runner-up spot.
Marquette freshman Lindsey Rudden, the pre-meet favorite, appeared to be well on her way to victory.
Then, the unthinkable happened to the Great Northern Conference champion.
Rudden, who was undefeated before Saturday, passed out and needed to be helped off the course.
“People kept telling me you’re gaining on her, then I passed her in the last 800 meters,” said Kiilunen. “That’s very unfortunate for the Marquette girl. She’s a tough runner. There will be so many more races for her to win and break records. She has a real bright future.”
Kiilunen also earned her fourth West-Pac Conference title at Atlantic Mine on Oct. 11 and was named U.P. Female Runner of the Year the past three seasons.
“This just goes to show it’s never over,” Calumet coach Arne Kinnunen said. “Everything happens for a reason. Although, what happened to Lindsey is unfortunate. But how often does anybody win the U.P. Finals four years in a row. Tara is just an incredible runner and she showed that by winning 44-of-46 races through her high school career.”
Her sister, freshman Leah Kiilunen, was runner-up on Saturday at 19:50, with Menominee junior Kameron Burmeister third (19:53.3).
“The Menominee girl was pushing me the whole way,” Leah Kiilunen said. “Her coaches were giving her advice, and I was listening to them. I knew what she was going to do. Although, I can’t help but feel sorry for Lindsey because she had such a great season.”
Division 2
Newberry edged Ironwood 50-52 for its first U.P. Division 2 title on this sunny and seasonably mild day. Hancock placed third with 79 points.
Ironwood junior Jessica Gering, crowned Indianhead Conference champion last week, captured her first U.P. title in 20:40.9. Gering, who took slightly more than a week off mid season due to shin pain, was followed by senior teammate Hannah Palmeter (21:27.9) and West Iron County’s Rebekah Serbinski (21:31.6).
“The shins felt better when I came back, and I got a little stronger toward the end of the season,” Gering said. “I’m just happy to win one. Overall, our team did well. Newberry has a great team. We just have to keep working together and helping each other out. Everybody was happy with how they did.”
Division 3
St. Ignace senior Sarah Cullip, who earned the Division 2 title the past two seasons, added a Division 3 crown to her collection in 19:36. She was followed by teammate Lily Calcaterra (20:47.4) and Rudyard senior Leah Jarvie (20:53.3).
The Saints also were crowned U.P. champions for the first time in school history with 40 points, followed by Dollar Bay with 74 and Rudyard with 81.
“This feels awesome,” said Cullip, who also captured the Straits Area Conference title on Oct. 9. “This proves that hard work pays off. Lily was right there to push me. The competition was a little different for us this year. I just kept my eye on the competition and incoming freshmen. I was extremely nervous before the race. I just wanted to keep up the pace I’ve been working on.”
Cullip, expected to be a key player on the Saints’ basketball team, is looking forward to this season. St. Ignace captured the Class C state title in 2011 and reached the semifinals last year.
“I’m real excited for basketball,” said Cullip. “Teammates who aren’t out for fall sports are in the gym practicing hard everyday. We’ll have to prepare for little different competition (in Class D) this year.”
PHOTO: Eventual runner-up Leah Kiilunen of Calumet (9) leads a pack at the Division 1 race at Saturday's Upper Peninsula Finals at Munising (Photo courtesy of RunMichigan.com/Paul Gerard).