Preview: History in the Racing
October 17, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Gentz Homestead Golf Course in Harvey will host MHSAA Finals on Saturday that could showcase a few extremes in Upper Peninsula girls cross country.
In Division 1, Marquette is seeking its 29th MHSAA team title – owning the most by far of any school in either peninsula. Ishpeming in Division 2, meanwhile, is piling up accomplishments it hadn’t achieved in 35 years – and can add the crowning achievement with its first Finals win since 1980.
Somewhere in the middle, rivals Cedarville and St. Ignace should battle in Division 3 in what could be the most exciting race of the day.
Here's a look at some of the teams and individuals expected to cross the finish line first. Click for Saturday's race schedule and a list of all qualifiers.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Marquette
2013 runner-up: Calumet
2014 top three: 1. Marquette, 2. Calumet, 3. Sault Ste. Marie.
Marquette has won more than twice as many Upper Peninsula Finals as any other school – Calumet happens to be second on that list with 11. The Redettes are heavy favorites again with four of the top nine individual finishers from last season back after the team scored 62 points fewer than the field. Junior Lindsey Rudden and sophomore Amber Huebner finished second and third, respectively, last season, while seniors Calla Martysz and Shayla Huebner came in eighth and ninth. But Calumet returns three of its top five, led by sixth-place Leah Kiilunen and 15th-place Corey Miller; both are juniors and Kiilunen finished second in 2012.
Individuals: Three more of last season’s top 15 will run this weekend. Escanaba senior Aimee Giese will race for her third top-10 finish after coming in fourth as a sophomore and 10th as a junior. Gladstone sophomore Leigha Woelfer was fourth last season in her first MHSAA Final, and Sault Ste. Marie senior Michaela Rushford improved from 17th in 2012 to 13th last season. Menominee senior Lilly Johnson also will try to finish on a fast note – she came in eighth as a freshman.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Hancock
2013 runner-up: St. Ignace
2014 top three: 1. Ishpeming, 2. Ishpeming Westwood, 3. Hancock.
Ishpeming is favored to win its first MHSAA title since 1980 – but it’s been that kind of season for the Hematites, who also won their Mid-Peninsula Conference title for the first time since 1980. Ishpeming is shining with a lineup featuring five freshmen and two sophomores including Khora Swanson, who finished eighth a year ago. Westwood, second in the M-PC, is led by league individual champion Kathryn Etelamaki, a junior, and junior Anastasia Bjork, who finished ninth at last season’s Final. Hancock is keyed by two top-15 finishers from 2013 – 10th-place Kaylor Holmstrom, a senior, and junior Ashley Aho, who came in 14th.
Individuals: Iron River West Iron County senior Tori Harris-Hogaboom finished eighth as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore and seventh as a junior. She’s the second-highest returning finisher to this race, behind Norway junior Kyra Johnson, who finished fourth in 2013. Ironwood senior Katie Piispanen finished 14th as a sophomore.
DIVISION 3
Reigning champion: Munising
2013 runner-up: Cedarville
2014 top three: 1. Cedarville, 2. St. Ignace, 3. Dollar Bay.
Cedarville was champion in 2011 and runner-up last season and 2010, and returns a pair of top sophomores that lead a team with six underclassmen total. Emma Bohn is back after finishing third, and Leila Schlosser came in 12th as a freshman in 2013. But St. Ignace should provide an incredible challenge with its top five finishers back from last season’s runner-up in Division 2. Junior Lily Calcaterra was the individual runner-up in that race and in Division 3 as a sophomore, and sophomore Rosy Shimkovitz and junior Katie O’Rourke finished 11th and 12th, respectively, last season.
Individuals: Rudyard senior Kaylee Hoolsema will attempt to repeat as champion after winning last season's race by 44 seconds. Dollar Bay's Cami Daavettila was eighth last season as a freshman, and Chassell juniors Julia Pietila and Sam Shitaye finished 13th and 15th, respectively.
PHOTO: Cedarville's Emma Bohn (127) finished third in the Division 3 race a year ago and leads this season's favorite. (Photo courtesy of RunMichigan.com/Paul Gerard.)
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.)