Cook Running to Complete Historic Rochester Career with Top Finals Finish
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 1, 2024
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.)
Preview: Senior Stars Enter Final Stretch
November 1, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan International Speedway will showcase Saturday the last MHSAA Finals for a pair of the most successful champions all-time in this state.
Hart’s Adelyn Ackley will run for her third individual championship while attempting to lead her team to a repeat in Lower Peninsula Division 3. Rockford’s Ericka VanderLende won last season’s Division 1 individual title with one of the fastest 5K times in Finals history, and she enters this weekend with the state’s fastest time this fall.
A total of 958 runners will take to the course at MIS for the girls races, which begin with Division 4 at 10:50 a.m. – the boys start the day with their Division 4 at 9:30. Below are some of the teams to watch and a glance at each of the individual fields as well. Click for all Finals qualifiers, a map of the course and links to buy tickets and watch the Finish Line camera on MHSAA.tv, and come back to Second Half later Saturday for coverage of all four meets. (NOTE: “Rankings” of individual runners below are based on data at Athletic.net, which orders runners based on the single fastest times they’ve run this season.)
Division 1
Reigning champion: Troy
2017 runner-up: Northville
2018 top-ranked: 1. Northville, 2. Clarkston, 3. Ann Arbor Pioneer.
Troy held off Northville by five points to claim last season’s championship, but the Mustangs have six of their seven runners back including sophomore Yasmine Mansi (ninth in 2017) and senior Nicole Cybul (18th). Those two rank ninth and 11th, respectively, among runners regardless of division this fall. All five scorers are back from the Clarkston team that finished eighth a year ago, and Ann Arbor Pioneer brings back four of its top six from the team that finished fourth. Junior Zofia Dudek placed 20th individually for the Pioneers last fall, and freshman Sarah Forsyth ranks 16th regardless of division among this season’s best.
Individuals: Rockford’s VanderLende owns the state’s fastest time this fall by 14 seconds after winning her Regional in 16:43.3. But the returning crew accompanying her is also strong. Waterford Mott senior Rylee Robinson (third), West Bloomfield senior Kyla Christopher-Moody (fourth), Grand Haven senior Gabby Hentemann (eighth) and White Lake Lakeland senior Madeline Rehm (10th) joined VanderLende and Mansi in the top 10 in 2017. Farmington senior Abby Inch (11th), Highland Milford senior Victoria Heiligenthal (12th), Fenton junior Alexa Keiser (13th), Portage Northern senior Peyton Witt (16th), Midland Dow senior Anastasia Tucker (17th) and Romeo junior Madelyn Malczewski (19th) make it 14 of last year’s top 20 coming back to MIS.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Lansing Catholic
2017 runner-up: Grand Rapids Christian
2018 top-ranked: 1. East Grand Rapids, 2. Petoskey, 3. DeWitt.
East Grand Rapids has finished runner-up twice (2015 and 2016) since last winning the championship in 2011, and is back in Division 2 after placing 13th in Division 1 last fall. The top three finishers from that team return, and six runners rank among the top 29 in Division 2. Petoskey finished 19th last season but without a senior; five returnees are joined by two freshmen, and sophomore Emma Squires ranks seventh in the division. DeWitt has three runners ranked among the top 35 and returns four from the team that finished third last season, led by senior Ashley Shipps (13th individually in 2017).
Individuals: Division 2 graduated two of the state’s top runners this decade this spring, and the field still is loaded. Lansing Catholic’s Jaden Theis (sixth in 2017) and Lauren Cleary (third) have broken 18 minutes, Theis’ 17:07.3 on Sept. 29 ranking her fourth regardless of division as she looks to follow up her sister Olivia’s individual title last season. Mason also has two returning top-20 finishers – runner-up and now-senior Cecilia Stalzer and junior Lucy Petee (20th), while Plainwell junior Makenna Veen (fifth), Goodrich senior Jillian Lange (seventh) and Big Rapids senior Meghan Langworthy (10th) also are back from the top 10. St. Johns junior Taryn Chapko (11th), Wayland junior Rylee Cronkright (12th), Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior Jennifer Ohlsson (14th) and Paw Paw senior Molly Thompson (18th), along with DeWitt’s Shipps, give the division 12 returning top-20 placers from a year ago.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Hart
2017 runner-up: Benzie Central
2018 top-ranked: 1. Hart, 2. Grandville Calvin Christian, 3. Clare.
Hart has ranked among the top teams in the state regardless of division the last two seasons, keyed in part by a number of members of the Ackley family. Adelyn Ackley will attempt to become the 26th three-time girls Finals champion, and her top time of 17:00.6 ranks her third in the state regardless of division. Total, five of Hart’s top six from last season are back including as well sophomores Savannah Ackley (sixth place individually) and cousin Lynae Ackley (20th). Calvin Christian is seeking its first championship in this sport after finishing third a year ago, and returns four of the top five runners from that team. Clare was fifth last season without a senior; senior Lainey Veenkant (12th individually) leads five returnees and two freshmen heading to MIS.
Individuals: Juniors took the top five places last season; the fifth-place runner is in Division 4 this fall, but Ackley will again be part of a chase with Shepherd senior Amber Gall (second), Kent City senior Lauren Freeland (third) and McBain senior Klaudia O’Malley (fourth). North Muskegon junior Isabella Lindsay (eighth) and Hanover-Horton senior Judy Rector (10th) also are back from the top 10. Rounding out returnees from the top 20 are Bad Axe junior Jelena Prescott (13th), Manton junior Paige Swiriduk (15th), Benzie Central junior Paige Johnston (17th) and Traverse City St. Francis senior Katelyn Duffing (19th) – making for 13 of the top 20 total.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
2017 runner-up: Ubly
2018 top-ranked: 1. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 2. Saugatuck, 3. Pittsford.
The Irish have won the last three Division 4 championships, last year by 99 points – but they’re in for perhaps the toughest race of this run against Saugatuck, which edged Sacred Heart to win the Division 4 race at the Oct. 6 Portage Invitational (although Sacred Heart was missing its fifth runner). The Irish have five of their seven runners back from last year’s championship team, with senior Scout Nelson coming in third individually in 2017, junior Desiree McConnell eighth and senior Lauren MacDonald 19th. Total, Sacred Heart has four of the top 19 ranked runners in Division 4. Saugatuck has three of the top 13, including senior Thea Johnson, who finished fifth in Division 3 in 2017. The Indians as a team last season finished fourth in Division 3 without a senior; the five scoring runners are back. Pittsford was 10th in Division 4 last season with just one senior, and five of the top six runners from that team will run this weekend led by senior Renee Osborne (16th individually in 2017).
Individuals: Four freshmen finished among the top 18 last season – led by Lansing Christian now-sophomore Madison Volz in fifth – and a freshman could be the story Saturday. Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s Abby VanderKooi joins Rockford’s VanderLende as the only runners to clear 17 minutes this season, and VanderKooi’s best time of 16:57.3 is nearly 1:13 faster then Volz’s best as the second-ranked runner in Division 4. VanderKooi will work to outpace 12 top-20 returnees. In addition to those already mentioned, the following also are back: Hudsonsville Libertas Christian senior Anna Mason (sixth), Ubly senior Haili Gusa (seventh), Western Michigan Christian senior Josie Aardema (12th), Lansing Christian sophomore Lexi Kinnas (13th), Concord sophomore Skylar Thompson (14th), Royal Oak Shrine junior Ellie Kendell (15th) and Mayville sophomore Haley Rowbotham (18th).
PHOTO: Hart’s Adelyn Ackley charges down the final stretch on the way to winning her second straight Division 3 championship last fall at MIS. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)