Preview: Past Champs Back in Running
November 5, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first runners down the home stretch at Michigan International Speedway this weekend could look familiar for at least three divisions of the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals.
The fourth? That’s guaranteed to finish much differently than a year ago.
Reigning champions are expected to set the pace again in Divisions 1, 2 and 3. But Division 4 will be another story entirely, as the reigning team and individual champions are running in Division 3 this time.
A change in format also will switch things up a bit. To limit the number of participants in each race, the four divisions will be run over two days – Friday and Saturday – with each gender in each division spread over two races. Third-place teams and individual qualifiers from Regionals will run first, and first and second-place Regional finishers will run second.
Watching this year’s Finals at MIS also will be different. Attendance is limited due to COVID-19 precautions, but opportunities to watch off-site are available again via MHSAA.tv. Coverage will be enhanced this year with an additional camera on the back of the course to better capture the first 800 meters, 1.5-mile and 2.25-mile marks of the race. The traditional Finish Line camera also will cover the action, with commentary from a crew of announcers.
Here’s the schedule, with links to broadcasts of each race:
Friday – Nov. 6
Division 1 Finals - Boys at 9:30 and 10 a.m. - Girls at 11 and 11:30 a.m.
Division 2 Finals - Boys at 1:30 and 2 p.m. - Girls at 3 and 3:30 p.m.
Saturday – Nov. 7
Division 3 Finals - Boys at 9:30 and 10 a.m. - Girls at 11 and 11:30 a.m.
Division 4 Finals - Boys at 1:30 and 2 p.m. - Girls at 3 and 3:30 p.m.
Come back both Friday and Saturday for coverage of all four meets on Second Half, and see below for teams and individuals who should be in the running. References to a list of fastest times per division this fall includes only the top time for each runner and can be found with the Finals program and much more information on or linked to MHSAA.com.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2019 runner-up: Traverse City Central
2020 top-ranked: 1. Traverse City Central, 2. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 3. Holland West Ottawa
This could come down to Pioneer and Central again after the Pioneers edged the Trojans 80-113 at the top of the standings of last year’s Final. Pioneer graduated last season’s individual champion Zofia Dudek and total two of its top five but is keyed by a Regional champion freshman in Rachel Forsyth, while Central brings back five of last season’s top six who are joined by a pair of standout freshmen. Trojans junior Julia Flynn didn’t run at her team’s Regional but has the fastest time in Division 1 this fall at 16:51.27 and finished third at the Final a year ago. Pioneer junior Sarah Forsyth was ninth at the Final in 2019, and Central senior Avery McLean was 17th. West Ottawa is expected to move up from seventh last season as it pursues its first Finals championship, anchored by Arianne Olson – the individual runner-up last season as a freshman.
Individuals: Although Dudek graduated, 14 of last season’s top 20 finishers will reload the field. Following Olson and Flynn last year was Saline now-junior Madi Wood in fourth and Birmingham Seaholm now-senior Audrey DaDamio in fifth, with Novi now-senior Elizabeth Babcock in seventh. Those five finished within 17 seconds of each other, and DaDamio’s season-best 17:16.40 is the second-fastest time in Division 1 this fall. Also back from last season’s top 20 are Forsyth, Plymouth junior Lauren Kiley (11th), Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills senior Madison Ebright (12th), Lake Orion senior Sophie Novak (13th), East Lansing senior Abbie Draheim (14th), McLean, Plymouth senior Londyn Swenson (18th), Northville senior Yasmine Mansi (19th) and Ottawa Hills’ junior Adit Dau (20th). Two more freshmen – Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s Clara James-Heer and Macomb Dakota’s Jayden Harberts – have posted times among the 10 fastest in Division 1 this fall.
Division 2
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2019 runner-up: Petoskey
2020 top-ranked: 1. East Grand Rapids, 2. Petoskey, 3. Grand Rapids Christian
Like in Division 1, last season’s top finishers are expected to push for the championship again – East Grand Rapids for the third straight season and Petoskey attempting to win for the first time. The Pioneers won the race at the top in 2019 36-92, placing five of the top 14 individuals but graduating two last spring including champion Anna Petr. At the same time, freshman Drew Muller, junior Ainsley Workman and senior Hannah Bodine have posted times among the 11 fastest in Division 2; Bodine was seventh and Workman 10th at the Final last season. Petoskey senior Emma Squires has the fastest time in Division 2 (17:26.70), with senior Cambrie Smith fifth (18:07,60), senior Sarah Liederbach 12th and junior Noel Vanderwall 13th – Squires was fifth at the 2019 Final, Liederbach was 20th and Vanderwall was 27th. Grand Rapids Christian finished 12th last season but has three titles and a runner-up finish over the last decade and one of the fastest individuals in junior Madelyn Frens, who edged Muller by just more than a second at their league’s championship race and was sixth at her most recent Finals in 2018.
Individuals: Squires, Bodine and Workman are the only top-10 finishers from 2019 back in the field, but six more return who came in 13-20th – Plainwell sophomore Grace Pettit (13th), Whitehall junior Ryann Jibson (15th), Lansing Catholic sophomore Hannah Pricco (16th), Freeland junior Kiera Hansen (17th), Otsego junior Joy Wolfe (18th) and Liederbach, with two more currently scratched for this weekend's race. Cadillac junior Kendall Schopieray was 47th last year but has the sixth-fastest time in Division 2 this fall. A trio of freshmen as well should make a massive impact on the individual standings: Muller, along with Mason’s Meghan Ford and Frankenmuth’s Mary Richmond. Ford’s best of 17:36.40 ranks second in Division 2 this season, and Richmond’s best is seventh on the list. Shepherd senior Madde Skeel, who ran 20th in Division 3 last season, also is in this field.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Hart
2019 runner-up: Shepherd
2020 top-ranked: 1. Hart, 2. Grandville Calvin Christian, 3. Benzie Central
Hart is hoping to become the fourth Lower Peninsula girls cross country program to win four consecutive Finals, and the Pirates remain formidable coming off a Regional where they took the top four places. Freshman Alyson Enns (17:46.75) ranks fifth on the list of fastest Division 3 times this fall, with senior Savannah Ackley (4th), junior Audrienna Enns (5th) and senior Lynae Ackley (14th) the team’s top three finishers from last season’s impressive win. Calvin Christian is looking to make a jump from third last season, when now-junior Leanne Krombeen led the way with a 19th-place individual finish. Senior teammate Catherine Kortman also has been among Division 3’s fastest this fall. Benzie Central was seventh last season and is led by standout freshman Mylie Kelly joining four of the team’s top five Finals finishers from 2019.
Individuals: A fast returning field will be bolstered even more by another two-time champion. Stockbridge junior Rylee Tolson won Division 3 last season and is back, and Muskegon Western Michigan Christian junior Abby VanderKooi is in Division 3 this weekend after winning Division 4 the last two years. She has the fastest Division 3 time this fall at 16:48.71. Ithaca junior Lani Bloom, Roscommon junior Allison Chmielewski and Jackson Lumen Christi junior Faith Smith have the next three fastest times, respectively, and the finished 18th, third and 22nd in 2019. Other top-20 finishers from last season running again are Boyne City sophomore Ava Maginity (7th), Harbor Springs junior Maye Burns (8th), St. Louis junior Libby Munderloh (10th), New Lothrop junior Clara Krupp (11th), Reed City senior Abbigail Kiaunis (13th) and Kent City senior Layla Martini (16th). Bridgman senior Karsyn Stewart, who set the pace for her team's Division 4 championship last fall by coming in sixth, is running in Division 3 as well.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Bridgman
2019 runner-up: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
2020 top-ranked: 1. Lansing Christian, 2. Hillsdale Academy, 3. Beal City
Lansing Christian and Hillsdale Academy are running for what would be a first championship, while Beal City is hoping to add a third after topping Division 4 back-to-back in 2013 and 2014. The Pilgrims didn’t qualify for the Finals as a team last season, but did enjoy a third-place individual finish from now-senior Madison Volz, a 20th by now-sophomore Ashlyn Kephart and a 35th place by now-senior Natalie Tebben. Those three rank among the top 19 in Division 4 this fall. Hillsdale Academy is looking to move up from fourth in 2019 with sophomore Megan Roberts again among the division’s fastest after placing 22nd individually a year ago. The Aggies will follow a speedy 1-2 punch of sophomore Kaylee Locke and junior Rachal Weber, who crossed eighth and 10th, respectively, last season as the team finished 17th. Sophomore Tailor Onstott also has run among the leaders this season.
Individuals: This field opens up with VanderKooi running in Division 3. Volz is the highest-placing returnee and also finished second in Division 4 as a sophomore and fifth as a freshman. Maple City Glen Lake junior Makenna Scott (18:42.84) has the fastest time in Division 4 this fall and finished fourth at the 2019 Final, and Buckley freshman Aiden Harrand (18:43.07) surely will be in the mix with the second-fastest time in Division 4, just ahead of the best by Volz (18:47.37). Concord senior Skylar Thompson was fifth last season and ranks fifth on this year’s fastest times list, with Westland Huron Valley sophomore Erika Van Loton fourth this season and coming off a seventh-place 2019 finish. Also back from last season’s top 20 are Mayville senior Haley Rowbotham (9th), Sacred Heart sophomore Olivia Ervin (12th), Gaylord St. Mary freshman Miriam Murrell (14th), Brethren senior Alexis Tracy (15th) and Harbor Beach senior Makara Kramer (19th).
PHOTO: Petoskey's Emma Squires (1427) leads a pack through the middle of last season's Division 2 championship race at Michigan International Speedway. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
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.)