Sacred Heart, Strenge Surge Again
November 5, 2016
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN – Ava Strenge and Bailley McConnell both got what they came for Saturday.
Strenge, a Battle Creek St. Philip senior, reclaimed the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 individual cross country championship with a powerful front-running performance at Michigan International Speedway.
McConnell, a distant individual runner-up, helped her Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart team post another record-breaking point total en route to the team championship.
Strenge led from start to finish, winning the race in 18:27.2.
McConnell was second in 18:55.6, leading a dominant Sacred Heart team that had six all-state runners and a seventh who missed by one place.
The Irish broke the Division 4 record of 52 points they scored last year by scoring 34, beating runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia by 82. Sacred Heart’s total ranks sixth all-time in any division and is the lowest since Rockford won Class A with 25 points in 1998.
“It’s awesome,” said McConnell, a junior. “It’s good to be a team and work together, cheer each other on and be really close to each other. Sometimes we get to run with each other during the race.
“We were hoping to make another record. We’ve had some injuries and sicknesses, so we were just hoping to maintain that.”
There have been some great sister acts in MHSAA cross country history, but nothing like the McConnells.
Not only was Bailley second, but senior Alexis McConnell was fourth in 19:09.1 and sophomore Cammie McConnell was fifth in 19:10.6.
“I went out with my sisters,” Bailley said. “They like to pace me a lot and I like to pace with them, so we just kind of stayed back. Each mile, we’d see the time and I’d push harder so I could keep a constant pace.”
Also scoring for Sacred Heart were sophomore Lauren MacDonald (11th, 19:41.0) and sophomore Scout Nelson (20th, 20:09.8). No. 6 runner Desiree McConnell’s place didn’t count in the team score, but she was still all-state with her 26th-place showing in 20:14.2. Even No. 7 runner Rowan Fitzpatrick almost made all-state, missing by one spot by placing 31st in 20:28.0.
Strenge was the Division 4 champion two years ago. She led most of last year’s race before being run down by Tessa Fornari of Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes.
“It was kind of a shock to me,” Strenge said. “I was disappointed, but I still had next year.”
Strenge was determined not to be caught again, charging to the front and pushing a hard pace. The way she pumped her arms was more in line with a middle-distance runner on the track than a cross country runner.
“I like to get out in front of the pack,” Strenge said. “Our start was way in the far corner. I wanted to get in the front as soon as possible. I’m not really a good sprinter, so I wanted a lead before they could pass me on the straightaway.”
The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Sisters Alexis McConnell (1857) and Cammie McConnell run to top-five finishes in the Division 4 girls race Saturday. (Middle) Battle Creek St. Philip’s Ava Strenge sprints the final stretch to win her second individual title in three seasons. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Livingston Repeats, Whitmore Lake 3-Peats to Kickoff LP Cross Country Finals
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — When asked about her own performance, Whitmore Lake junior Kaylie Livingston kept returning the subject to her team.
Livingston repeated as the Division 4 champion at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals on Saturday with a time of 18 minutes, 30.7 seconds at Michigan International Speedway.
Of even more importance to Livingston was being part of a championship team at the Finals for the third year in a row.
The Trojans achieved the three-peat by scoring 140 points to finish ahead of runner-up Hillsdale Academy by 18. It was the sixth Finals championship for Whitmore Lake.
“My season’s gone really well,” Livingston said. “The girls as a whole have done really good. We had big wins at big invitationals.”
Livingston has been the front-runner leading the Trojans to all three titles. She took second as a freshman behind Buckley senior Aiden Harrand, who won with a Division 4 record of 17:38.9. Livingston won the individual championship last season before repeating this year.
“I really wanted to defend the title to show I’m on the same level as I was last season and just that I keep improving,” Livingston said.
Asked about the pressure of repeating individually, Livingston’s thoughts went to the team as a whole.
“Definitely the pressure is very high,” she said. “The girls felt it. With some of the senior girls this year, I felt really confident we could do really well. We’ve definitely learned how to handle the pressure.”
In addition to Livingston, Carina Burchi, Sofia Robertson and Elodie Weaver have been members of all three championship teams at Whitmore Lake. Malynda Lambros and Caroline Darrah ran for the last two championship teams.
Burchi was 17th on Saturday in 19:50.6, Lambros 30th in 20:20.3, Robertson 46th in 20:56.7 and Weaver 107th in 21:59.8 for the Trojans.
In the individual race, Gobles junior Libby Smith stayed close enough to Livingston to keep things interesting heading into the long final stretch at MIS. Livingston hit the mile mark in 5:42.5, followed by Smith in 5:44.9. Livingston opened up a 10.3-second lead after hitting two miles in 11:43.6.
Smith took nearly four seconds off Livingston’s lead in the final tenth of a mile, but couldn’t close the gap, finishing in 18:36.1.
“I could see her the whole time,” said Smith, who was third last year and seventh as a freshman. “I was hoping. It was a tough race. I’m happy with how I did.”
Emma Riker of Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep was third in 18:44.9.
PHOTOS (Top) Whitmore Lake’s Kaylie Livingston charges toward the finish line on the way to repeating as Division 4 champion Saturday morning. (Middle) Gobles’ Libby Smith travels the closing stretch. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)