When it came to making something good out of an overall terrible situation five years ago, Rochester senior cross country runner Lucy Cook certainly excelled.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020 as Cook started her eighth grade year, she said she was splitting her time between basketball and cross country. 

But with gyms shut down and the safest form of exercise being anything outside, Cook got really busy running. 

“I had time to stay consistent and do a lot more running. I’ve always been a multi-sport person, so I didn’t start focusing solely on cross country until I quit basketball in the eighth grade,” she recalled.

So, why was that so important?

“I kind of had a breakout year in eighth grade (in cross country),” Cook said. “That’s when I knew I could do something with this.”

Indeed she has.

Earlier this year, Cook became just the second runner to win four straight Oakland County titles.

She has finished in the top six in all three Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals she has competed in, taking sixth as a freshman in 2021 and third both of the last two years. 

Cook enters as one of the top LPD1 contenders again Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. And while there are other worthy challengers, Cook likely will be among a few favorites the rest of the field is watching most during the race.

“The last couple of times, I feel like I’ve been really nervous and it’s impacted by performances,” Cook said. “This time, I want to go into it a lot more calm and experienced.”

Cook certainly is used to running big races, and not simply for the fact she has done so well at the last three Finals meets. 

Cook recalls starting to run in events at the age of 4.

“I was doing the Teddy Bear Trot toddler race,” Cook said, referring to a race that’s part of the annual Crim Festival of Races every August. 

Cook has grown up to become the best Rochester racer since the legendary Megan Goethals, who won the Foot Locker national championship in 2009 and individual Division 1 titles in 2008 and 2009. 

“She was definitely a name I heard around a lot, and I definitely aim to be as good as her,” Cook said.

Rochester cross country head coach Amy Oppat said one thing that has separated Cook from other runners is her determination to master new tasks.

“She just takes all of her experiences and builds on those,” Oppat said. “Every time she puts a new challenge in front of her and meets that challenge, she realizes she can continue to do that. She is open to being challenged and meeting demands.”

The main challenge so far this year has been to make sure she isn’t overdoing it with everything building toward Saturday.

“My coaches have doing a really good job of keeping me under control while practicing and racing,” Cook said. “Just try not to peak before states. The goal is to be at my best at states.”

Cook hopes to have a professional future in running, but first will be a college career at Michigan State after she recently committed to the Spartans. 

Rochester obviously feels Cook will have a bright future at MSU, but the team and Cook hope she ends her high school career with one more major accomplishment missing from an otherwise full resume – that individual Finals championship.

“She’s strong, and she’s ready for big things,” Oppat said. “We’re glad she has been so successful here at Rochester.”

Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Rochester’s Lucy Cook runs to her fourth Oakland County championship this season. (Middle) Cook races toward the finish during last season’s LPD1 Final. (Oakland County photo by John Brabbs, Finals photo by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)