Preview: MIS Could Play Host to Champions 1st-Time, Repeat and 3-Peat

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

November 1, 2024

Two reigning team champions are anticipated to celebrate again at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Boys Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway – but joined as well by a potential first-timer and first-time-in-a-long-time winner.

Northville is running for a third-straight championship in Division 1, and Traverse City St. Francis a repeat in Division 3, and both are ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions this week. In Division 4, Mason County Eastern is No. 1 and seeking its first Finals team title. In Division 2, top-ranked Allendale will run for its first this century.

See below for more on several team and individual contenders Saturday. The "season bests" list referred to frequently is a ranking list of every runner's best time this season, maintained by Athletic.net. The first boys race, in Division 4, begins at 9:30 a.m.; click here for the full schedule and ticket information.

Additionally, all eight races Saturday at MIS will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on the NFHS Network: Divisions 1 & 2 | Divisions 3 & 4.

Division 1

Reigning champion: Northville
2023 runner-up: Brighton
2024 top-ranked: 1. Northville, 2. Jenison, 3. Brighton.

Northville is anticipated to run its championship streak to three with five runners from last season’s Finals lineup back and all among the top eight during their Regional championship run last weekend. But once again, the Kensington Lakes Activities Association party doesn’t stop there, as Brighton is looking to add to its recent titles in 2019 and 2021 and brings back four runners from last year’s third-place team; the Bulldogs placed five among the top 14 at their Regional win. Jenison won its Regional on a tie-breaker ahead of No. 4 Grand Haven and will push to move up from seventh last year, when the lineup will filled with all juniors and one sophomore. Six of those seven runners will be back this weekend.

Individuals: Only four of the top 15 individual placers last season didn’t graduate, and fourth-place Kamari Ronfeldt of Ann Arbor Pioneer is the top returning finisher and has the fastest top time in Division 1 this fall at 15:02.3, just more than a second ahead of Jenison’s Seth Conner who placed fifth at the 2023 Final. Milford junior Kyle O’Rourke was 10th last fall and Northville senior Ethan Powell 13th; O’Rourke is third on this season’s top times list and won his Regional last weekend. Also winning Regionals were Conner, Okemos junior Ian Morgan, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix junior Jackson Lam, Howell sophomore Jack MacGregor, Canton junior Aiden Pengelly, Oxford senior James Cusick, Utica junior Harper Wesley and Pioneer junior Beckett Crooks just more than two seconds ahead of Ronfeldt.

Division 2

Reigning champion: Ada Forest Hills Eastern
2023 runner-up: Pinckney
2024 top-ranked: 1. Allendale, 2. Grand Rapids Christian, 3. Holland Christian.

West Michigan dominates the top of the rankings in Division 2 with East Grand Rapids also No. 4 and Forest Hills Eastern No. 5 this week. Allendale is seeking its first championship since 1999 in Class C, Grand Rapids Christian its first since 2014 and Holland Christian its first ever to go with a runner-up finish in 1999 in Class B. Allendale did finish fourth at last year’s Final with only one senior and placed the top six from 2023 among the top 11 during  last weekend’s Regional win, when Holland Christian ran second. Grand Rapids Christian also won its Regional by three points ahead of EGR and six in front of FHE. The Eagles placed sixth last season at the Final and have three runners back. Holland Christian is looking to move up from 18th a year ago, when it ran without a senior. The Maroons have five this time.

Individuals: T.J. Hansen’s winning 14:52.8 last season is tied for the seventh-fastest 5K time in Finals history, and the Freeland senior has the fastest time in the state this season at 14:41.5. The second-fastest top time also belongs to a Division 2 runner, as Marshall senior Jack Bidwell posted a 14:56 at a different course but on the same day as Hansen’s 14:41. Bidwell placed fourth at last season’s Final. Forest Hills Eastern senior Henry Dixon (sixth), Dearborn Divine Child senior Colin Murray (ninth) and Allendale junior Ronnie Silveira (14th) were the only other non-seniors in last year’s top 15. Dixon, Bidwell, Hansen and Murray won Regionals last weekend, joined by Gladwin senior Elijah Christensen, Allendale sophomore Mason Hill, Parma Western junior Edison Lopeman, Macomb Lutheran North sophomore Joshua Macri and New Boston Huron junior Moises Salazar.

Division 3

Reigning champion: Traverse City St. Francis
2023 runner-up: St. Louis
2024 top-ranked: 1. Traverse City St. Francis, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Ithaca.

St. Francis’ championship last season came with just one senior in the lineup, and five of six juniors on that team were among the top eight as the Gladiators won their Regional last weekend ahead of No. 5 Charlevoix. Lumen Christi is seeking to move up from 12th last season and win its first Finals title since 2012, paced in part by senior Leo Swager, who finished 12th last season while running for St. Francis. An Ithaca championship would be its first since 1948 in Class D, and the Yellowjackets finished 11th last season without a senior and only two juniors. Six of those seven runners will be back at MIS this weekend.

Individuals: Although last year’s winner graduated, Reed City senior August Rohde finished second and has the third-fastest top time in all divisions this fall at 14:58.7. Onsted senior Mitchell Hiatt was sixth last season, Central Montcalm junior Gage Hoffman eighth, and St. Louis senior Landon Pestrue 10th. Rohde, Hiatt and Hoffman are coming off Regional championships, as are St. Francis senior Josh Slocum, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian senior Matthias Morse, Watervliet senior Daniel Mandujano, Ithaca junior Landen Styka, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest freshman Nole Lorenzen and Flat Rock junior Jacob Stanislawski.

Division 4

Reigning champion: Hillsdale Academy
2023 runner-up: Holland Calvary
2024 top-ranked: 1. Mason County Eastern, 2. Hillsdale Academy, 3. Holland Calvary.

Hillsdale Academy’s championship last season was its second in three seasons, and Calvary’s runner-up finish was its highest in program history – and both are expected to be in the mix again. But Mason County Eastern – eighth a year ago – may be the team to chase this time. MCE is seeking its first top-two Finals finish and won last weekend’s Regional on a tie-breaker ahead of No. 5 Maple City Glen Lake, but with four of the top 14 finishers including three who were among the Cardinals’ top five a year ago. Hillsdale Academy placed the top five and seven of the top eight in its Regional win, and five of those runners were in the lineup a year ago, and Holland Calvary won its Regional with all seven runners among the top 17 including six who competed at last year’s Final as freshmen.

Individuals: Royal Oak Shrine Catholic junior Abenezer Cerone is the highest-returning placer from a year ago after finishing third, and he’s tied for the third-fastest top time in this division this fall. Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep junior Marek Butkiewicz has the fastest by nearly 26 seconds at 15:11.8 after finishing sixth in 2023. Hillsdale Academy senior Reece Poole also is back after his fifth-place Finals finish last season, while Mesick sophomore Kyle Redman was seventh and Glen Lake senior Colebrook Sutherland ninth – and Dansville senior Theodore Davis ninth in Division 3. Butkiewicz, Davis and Cerone won Regionals last week, joined by Harbor Beach junior Brody Karg, Hillsdale Academy junior Grayson Rorick, White Cloud senior Coleson Cruzan, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart sophomore Wesley Chaffee, Mason County Eastern senior Alex Tyndall and Petoskey St. Michael freshman Cody Bradley. Tyndall has the second-fastest top time in Division 4 this season at 15:37.2.

PHOTO Several runners, including Grand Rapids Christian’s Simon Triezenberg (514), run the Division 2 race Sept. 28 at the Otsego Invitational. (Photo by Gary Shook.)

Preview: Historic Finish Guaranteed

October 18, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Only 16 runners in MHSAA boys cross country history have won three Finals championships. Only one – Central Lake’s Ryan Shay from 1993-96 – finished first four times during his high school career.

Brimley’s Austin Plotkin is part of that three-timers group. By the end of this weekend, he could join Shay is much smaller company.

Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals races begin Saturday at Gentz’s Golf Course in Marquette with the Division 1 girls at 11 a.m. and finish with the Division 3 boys at 1:30 p.m. Check back Saturday evening for coverage, and see below for more teams and individuals to watch. (Click for race information and competitors.)

Division 1

Reigning champion: Sault Ste. Marie
2018 runner-up: Houghton
Top-ranked: 1. Marquette, 2. Sault Ste. Marie, 3. Houghton. 

The Division 1 race has seen plenty of variety lately with four schools winning at least one championship over the last five seasons. The rankings would indicate Marquette as the favorite to jump up from fourth last season and win its first Finals title since 2014. Four of the team’s seven runners from last year are back and all four finished among the top 30 overall, led by now-seniors Hogan Nemetz (13th) and Moses Waide (16th). But Sault Ste. Marie will be right there again with four of the top 14 finishers back – senior Kaaleb Ranta (fourth), junior Jaron Wyma (sixth), senior Zachary Wilcox (eighth) and sophomore Riley Eavou (14th). And reigning individual runner-up Joe Wood is back for his final high school race to lead the reigning team runner-up Houghton, which also has juniors Branden Peterson (11th) and Jake Sullivan (20th) back among others.   

Individuals: Gladstone graduated champion Adam Bruce and third-place Jake Strasler. But sophomore Giovanni Mathews could lead the way after finishing fifth a year ago. Total, six of last year’s top 10 are back for this weekend, and Menominee junior Hunter Shepeck is another likely contender after coming in 12th in 2018.

Division 2

Reigning champion: Ishpeming
2018 runner-up: Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer
Top-ranked: 1. Ishpeming, 2. Ironwood, 3. Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer.

Ishpeming is running for its second straight championship and fifth in six seasons – and finished runner-up in 2017 when Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer won the title. W-M/B was runner-up for the other three of the last four championships. Last year’s matchup between the two was decided by 15 points, and Ishpeming returns four top-13 finishers: senior Jonah Broberg (fourth), junior Jordan Longtine (fifth), junior Joseph King (12th) and junior Silas Broberg (13th). Ironwood is expected to maneuver into the second spot this time and brings back junior Blaze Hollenbeck (ninth) and senior David Collins (16th).

Individuals: Senior Adam Mazurek leads the way for Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer coming off a seventh place last season. Manistique senior Alex Misniakiewicz also is back after coming in sixth. Total five of the top 10 from last year will return, a number made smaller with Newberry running in Division 3 this fall.  

Division 3

Reigning champion: Chassell
2018 runner-up: Brimley
Top-ranked: 1. Chassell, Rock Mid Peninsula, 3. Brimley.

Similar to Ishpeming in Division 2, Chassell also is running for its second straight title and fifth in six seasons, and finished runner-up in 2017 when Brimley came in first. Chassell edged the Bays by 13 points last year and brings back sophomore Daba Holmes (eighth) and junior Kolson Kytta (12th) from a group of five top-13 finishers. Brimley should make a run at the title based on its star power at the top – Plotkin again is the reigning individual champion and junior Cameron Hoornstra finished third last season.

Individuals: Division 3 definitely features the strongest individual race, at least on paper. Cedarville senior Thomas Bohn finished second to Plotkin the last two seasons. Total seven of last year’s top 10 are back, including also Dollar Bay junior Davin Hill (fifth), Rudyard junior Hayden Mills (sixth) and Ewen-Trout Creek sophomore Nik Thomas (10th). Newberry junior Ephram Evans should join the pack after finishing eighth in Division 2 in 2018.

PHOTO: For the second straight Finals last fall, Brimley’s Austin Plotkin just outpaced Cedarville’s Thomas Bohn to win the Division 3 championship. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)