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.)
Successfully Juggling 2 Sports, Richmond Chases Cross Country Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 27, 2021
Mary Richmond is too busy to run slow.
The Frankenmuth sophomore is splitting time this fall between the cross country and volleyball teams, while also working one day per week at an Italian restaurant in town. When those seasons end in the next month, she doesn’t exactly take a break. During the winter, school and work get balanced with travel volleyball. In the spring, track joins the fray, and in the summer, she plays travel softball.
“Both (fall) coaches are really accommodating with my schedules, and even with work, my boss is really good working with my schedules,” Richmond said. “My whole entire life I’ve been busy – I’ve always been going non-stop, so this isn’t a new thing this year.”
Richmond is passionate about each sport and the bonds created with teammates with whom she competes, which is why she wasn’t willing to give up volleyball or softball while becoming one of the state’s top runners.
Entering Saturday’s cross country Regional at Shepherd, Richmond shares the fastest time of the season in Lower Peninsula Division 2 (17 minutes, 56 seconds) with Grand Rapids Christian’s Madelyn Frens. She won a Regional title and placed fourth at the Division 2 Cross Country Finals as a freshman, and was all-state in a pair of events (third in the 1,600 meters, fourth in the 3,200) at last spring’s LP Division 2 Track & Field Finals.
“Mary works extremely hard in practice, and has learned to run on her own in most of our meets this season,” Frankenmuth girls cross country coach Mike Snyder said. “When there is a lead Gator, we simply tell her to chase the Gator. She loves competition and enjoys meets where she can compete with girls that have faster times than her. She has the potential to be the Division 2 state champion, and has the work ethic and focus to go after that goal.”
While Richmond is very busy, she said her focus is currently on the Regional race, which will be in the same location she ran her previous best – a time that is nearly a full minute faster than her closest competition.
“It’s a really good course, and I really want to work on my time and the little stuff, like my form and stuff, so I can get prepared for states,” Richmond said. “States are going to be really tough, because there are four or five girls within seconds of each other.”
Richmond has won nine of the 13 meets she’s run in this season, but her 17:56 came while she finished fifth. While running after the motorized vehicle that’s showing the way has provided some extra motivation in a lot of those meets, it’s racing the best that motivates Richmond the most.
“When my dad bikes next to me while I’m training, I always have him bike in front of me,” Richmond said. “With the Gator, I’m trying to catch it. It’s a racer’s mentality. I’ve never finished in first place when I’ve run a personal record.”
Anticipating she’ll get that chance again at the Finals has Richmond excited. And on that day, she said she won’t be concerned about time, just racing.
“Finishing at the top at states with those girls and being able to have a good race – being able to come out of it and saying I gave all I could give is probably my goal,” she said. “As long as I have no regrets afterward, I’ll be happy.”
In between the Regional and Finals, which are Nov. 6 at Michigan International Speedway, Richmond will be joining her volleyball teammates in trying to win a District title. Richmond, who stands 5 feet, 11½ inches tall, plays middle and outside hitter for the Eagles. She plays a reserve role on the volleyball court, but she’s enjoying it all the same.
“I’ve always loved volleyball, and I wasn’t ready to give it up,” Richmond said. “I don’t get much playing time, but we have such an athletic team that just being on the team and being there for all the practices has been great. I think I use volleyball as a little bit of a stress reliever from cross country. When I get to volleyball, I get to have fun with some of my friends, and at the same time compete.”
Frankenmuth will play in the District at Chesaning, and has a bye into the semifinal. Richmond thinks the team has the potential to make a run, and extend her busy fall.
“I think if we play like we can, those girls are just amazing when they come together,” she said. “Volleyball is barely any of their main sport, but when they come together, the athleticism in that group is nuts.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Frankenmuth’s Mary Richmond crosses the finish line during last season’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) Richmond leads the pack during this season’s Tri-Valley Conference championship race. (Top photo by RunMichigan.com, middle courtesy of the Frankenmuth cross country program.)