Troy, Rockford Leader Make Title Jumps
November 4, 2017
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN — Finally, a pleasant memory at Michigan International Speedway for Rockford junior Ericka VanderLende.
Her first two trips around the cross country course at MIS were OK, but weren’t indications of the greatness that awaited her.
VanderLende was pretty much a middle-of-the-pack finisher, placing 81st in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final in 19:13.1 as a freshman and 99th in 19:57.1 as a sophomore.
“It’s a lot different than all the other courses,” VanderLende said. “It’s a lot more intimidating going into it.”
Everything — both mentally and physically — came together for VanderLende on Saturday in her latest trip to Brooklyn.
After splitting two regular-season meetings with Traverse City Central senior Sielle Kearney, it was all VanderLende as she cruised to victory in 17:16.8. Kearney was second in 17:30.2.
“It’s been a really good season,” VanderLende said. “I stayed a lot more consistent with my races. Last year, I was kind of all over the place.”
VanderLende won eight of her 10 races this year.
She was fourth behind two Division 2 runners and a Division 3 runner in the Spartan Invitational, with Kearney taking fifth and Waterford Mott’s Rylee Robinson placing sixth. That turned out to be the finish order for the top Division 1 runners Saturday, with Robinson taking third behind VanderLende and Kearney in 17:34.8.
At the Portage Invitational, Kearney took first and VanderLende was third.
VanderLende and Kearney ran together until about the midway mark of the 3.1-mile race Saturday.
“I just let her get away, and she was going really strong,” Kearney said. “She had an awesome race. It was really cool to be in the same race and have that kind of competition.”
VanderLende’s victory led Rockford to a third-place finish with 153 points.
Troy won its first MHSAA championship since capturing Class A in 1993, edging Northville by a 127-132 score. Troy hadn’t made the top five since taking third in 2000, while Northville and Rockford are perennial title contenders.
Northville has six straight top-five finishes, while Rockford has been a top-10 finisher 21 times in the last 22 years.
While Troy didn’t have a runner break 18 minutes like Northville and Rockford, the Colts had their five scoring runners in the top 32 in the team race, with their second through fifth runners separated by only 3.7 seconds.
Senior Megan Worrel was 10th among team runners in 18:07.8, senior Hannah Palomino was 26th in 18:42.5, freshman Paige Anderson was 29th in 18:44.5, senior Meghan Monaghan was 30th in 18:44.8 and junior Katie Scoles was 32nd in 18:46.2.
PHOTOS: (Top) Rockford’s Ericka VanderLende (1240) and Traverse City Central’s Sielle Kearney quickly moved to the front of the pack Saturday. (Middle) Troy’s Paige Anderson (1276), Meghan Monaghan (1279) and Katie Scoles (1281) all placed between 41st and 44th to help the Colts to the team title. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Hoffman Adds To Record-Setting Day, Holland Christian Claims 1st Finals Win
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — What’s up with all these incredible times being run by Michigan high school cross country girls this fall?
Times that once seemed unapproachable are being run fairly regularly by the top girls in the state. Times that once guaranteed a spot on the all-state podium are no longer fast enough.
Otsego senior Emma Hoffman won the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship with a time of 16 minutes, 50.1 seconds Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. It was a Division 2 record and the fourth-fastest time ever at MIS, but only the second-fastest time on a day in which Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore Natasza Dudek ran a course-record 16:09.5.
Dudek’s time is the fastest in the nation this year and Hoffman’s 16:20.6 in her home invitational is fourth.
Gaylord senior Katie Berkshire was second with a time of 17:03.0 that ranks third in Division 2 history and 11th overall at MIS.
“It’s crazy to have that happen here,” Hoffman said. “Michigan’s getting really, really good at running. Cross country times are getting crazier and crazier every year.
“Watching girls from our state and other states hit those times it’s like, ‘Why not me? Why can’t I do that?’”
It was a surreal race in which Hoffman had a large lead over Berkshire, who in turn had a large lead over a talented pack of runners with sub-18 credentials.
“My coach preaches all the time to get out hard and relax,” said Hoffman, who won 10 of 11 races this season, the only loss being to Dudek. “So, I just knew going into this to just continue that. All season it’s been a lot of solo races. I just had to get out hard. Why change it on a day you don’t need to change it?”
Hoffman was second at the Finals as a freshman and junior, taking 17th as a sophomore.
Berkshire was 5.6 seconds behind Hoffman at the mile and 9.9 seconds back at the two mile. She kept pushing ahead, hoping to reel in one of the nation’s top runners.
“I was just trying to close that gap,” Berkshire said. “It was really hard to. I don’t know if I really succeeded in that or not. I tried to keep the mindset of, ‘Hey, I could win, so I’m going to keep pushing myself forward.’ I didn’t win, but I think it’s just the motivation of trusting myself and I can keep going. I’m just going to try my hardest. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, but at least I can say I gave everything I had.”
Hoffman hoped to take home two championships, but her team finished second in a close battle with fourth-ranked Holland Christian – which scored 113 points to beat top-ranked Otsego by six.
It was the first MHSAA Finals championship for the Maroons, whose best finish was third place last season.
Avery Engbers was sixth in 18:05.0, Eliana Stob 17th in 18:29.1, Annika Stob 33rd in 18:45.1, Layla Geurink 42nd in 19:03.8 and Ellery Lampen 54th in 19:17 for Holland Christian.
PHOTOS (Top) Otsego’s Emma Hoffman surges toward the finish of Saturday’s Division 2 Final at MIS. (Middle) Holland Christian’s Avery Engbers (484) leads a pack during the closing stretch. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)