BROOKLYN, Mich. — Whitehall junior Bobby Jazwinski had an unexpected guest watching the biggest moment of his cross country career.

The day before winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 individual championship, Jazwinski saw a familiar face in the family’s kitchen.

It was his sister Jessica, who won two Finals championships and set the girls Division 3 record of 17:08.8 in 2023.

The unusual thing about bumping into his sister in their own home was that she was supposed to still be at school at North Carolina State where she runs for the Wolfpack.

“She was making breakfast,” Jazwinski said. “I was like, ‘What are you doing here?’”

There was no way his sister was going to miss her little brother’s big moment, especially after he had to sit out last season because of the MHSAA transfer rule when he switched from Hart to Whitehall.

Their father slipped out Thursday night to pick up Jessica from the airport.

“I knew she was going to come back home for Thanksgiving and Christmas like usual, but my dad surprised me,” Jazwinski said. “He said he was going to do something in Grand Rapids and brought her home late at night.”

Jazwinski had plenty of family members from Michigan and out of state watching him race at MIS, but having his sister show up unexpectedly was a special gift.

“She’s such an inspiration to me,” he said. “She just kept giving me hugs and said that I’ve got this and to remember how hard I worked. Every time I started hurting, I just remembered how hard I worked over the summer and I didn’t want this to go to waste.”

Jazwinski won a kick to the finish against East Grand Rapids senior Jonah Workman, finishing in 15:07.1. Workman finished in 15:12.1.

Four runners were within 2.6 seconds of each other in the lead pack through two miles before it came down to Jazwinski and Workman at the end.

“My plan was to make a move about the two-mile mark, and I did,” Jazwinski said. “He was pretty much the only one who went with me. My coaches said, ‘Make a move when you get in the stadium; that’s who the contenders are for the championship.’ He was the only one with me I think. I was like, ‘OK, how bad do I really want this?’ I kept pushing through as much pain as I could.”

In the team race, Flint Powers Catholic won its first Finals championship since 1999 by a 98-106 margin over East Grand Rapids one year after not even reaching MIS.

The Chargers finished fourth at their Regional last year, sending Bryce Gross and Lennox Naswell to the Finals as individual qualifiers.

It was Naswell who led the charge Saturday, placing fifth in 15:24.7. Gross was 11th in 15:38.2, Tommy Beiter 30th in 16:00.3, Caleb Carignan 48th in 16:17.5 and Ryan Rathsburg 51st in 16:19.6.

“From the first day of the season, we knew everything doesn’t come easy,” Gross said. “We had a great year, but we learned how to fight from the (Saginaw Valley League meet). In our conference, we took a tough loss by a tie-breaker. From that we learned nothing’s given, not a single spot comes easy. This whole race, if you see a guy in front of you, you need to beat that kid.”

The Chargers’ coaching staff includes Leo Foley, who was a runner on Powers’ 1999 championship team. Head coach Dave Wolbert was an assistant coach 26 years ago.

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PHOTOS (Top) Whitehall’s Robert Jazwinski III sprints toward the finish on the way to winning the Division 2 Final on Saturday. (Middle) Flint Powers Catholic’s Lennox Naswell surges through the closing stretch at MIS. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)