Preview: Reigning Champions, Record Chasers Fill Out Loaded Lineup
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 2, 2023
Michigan has enjoyed its share of star-powered and history-making Lower Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals. But this weekend’s may surpass them all.
All four 2022 individual champions will run again this weekend, and 2021 Division 1 champion Rachel Forsyth is potentially powering toward the fastest finish in 5K Finals history. Two of last season’s team champions enter the weekend top-ranked in their divisions, and the other two are ranked among the top five. East Grand Rapids, last season’s runner-up in Division 2, remains in pursuit of a ninth Finals title, which would tie the record set by Jackson Lumen Christi.
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 race, Division 4 girls, 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 MHSAA.tv.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Holland West Ottawa
2022 runner-up: Romeo
2023 top-ranked: 1. Romeo, 2. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 3. Brighton.
West Ottawa dislodged Ann Arbor Pioneer from the top spot last season, ending Pioneer’s three-year championship run as the Panthers won their first title, and they do enter ranked No. 4 and with reigning individual champion Helen Sachs coming off a Regional runner-up finish. But Romeo is set up to copy last year’s narrative. Just as West Ottawa was the 2021 runner-up and ascended to the top spot last fall, Romeo finished second last year but enters this weekend as the favorite. Four Romeo runners have posted season bests that rank among the top 14 in Division 1, led by freshman Annie Hrabovsky and including sophomore Emmerson Clor, who finished 19th individually a year ago. Of course, Pioneer is still in the mix after finishing third last season, and Brighton has run with the elite all fall as well – both spent a week ranked No. 1 before Romeo took over the top spot for good at the end of September. Pioneer senior Rachel Forsyth is seeking to add to her 2021 individual championship, and her best time this fall of 16:07.5 is more than a minute faster than the next best and would set an all-Finals 5K record by more than 44 seconds.
Individuals: As Forsyth attempts to chase history, a group of 12 runners from last season’s top 20 make up an experienced group of challengers. Sachs, noted above, won last year’s race by 12 seconds, with Rochester junior Lucy Cook (third), Midland Dow junior Victoria Garces (fifth) and Macomb Dakota senior Jayden Harberts (seventh) also back from the top 10. Grand Rapids’ Ottawa Hills senior Selma Anderson, Midland Dow senior Katie Watkins, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central senior Clara James-Heer and Garces round out the top five on the season-bests list, respectively, with Harberts sixth. Anderson was 12th and James-Heer 11th last season at MIS, and Watkins has dropped major time after finishing 64th in 2022. Grand Haven junior Valerie Beeck, Watkins, Anderson, Brighton sophomore Lydia LaMarra, Forsyth, Livonia Churchill senior Morgan Brown, White Lake Lakeland junior Ava Alicandro, Cook and Hrabovsky were Regional champions.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Otsego
2022 runner-up: East Grand Rapids
2023 top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Christian, 2. Otsego, 3. Zeeland East.
There’s plenty of familiarity at the top, as Otsego is the reigning champion, Grand Rapids Christian finished third in 2022 and second in 2021, and No. 5 East Grand Rapids has won three of the last five championships and finished runner-up most recently last season and in 2020. Zeeland East and No. 4 Goodrich, however, are hoping to join the mix. East has never won a championship and finished eighth last season, and Goodrich was seventh in 2022 and last won in 2005 in Division 3. Grand Rapids Christian was first and Otsego second when they raced Oct. 7 at the Portage Invitational, and four GR Christian runners rank among the top 21 on the Division 2 list of season bests, while Otsego has three among the top nine. Senior Natalie VanOtteren sets the pace for the Eagles and is second on the season bests list after finishing fourth at the Final last fall. Otsego sophomore Emma Hoffman is the reigning individual runner-up and has the sixth-fastest season best in Division 2, and she’s joined by seniors Logan Brazee (seventh in 2022), Megan Germain (eighth) and junior Taylor Mitchell (14th) in one of the most experienced lineups in any division. Reigning champion Drew Muller is building toward another big finish for East Grand Rapids; she and junior Sadey Seyferth (15th in 2022) were first and second, respectively, at their Regional over the weekend. Zeeland East has interesting possibilities with senior Allison Kuzma coming off a sixth-place Finals finish and junior Emma Drnek posting the eighth-fastest season best in Division 2 this fall, and Goodrich is paced by junior Kamryn Lauinger, who has the 10th-fastest Division 2 best this fall.
Individuals: This is another seasoned group, with 17 of last year’s top 20 racing again. Less than a second behind Hoffman last year was Frankenmuth senior Mary Richmond in third, and fifth-place Grand Rapids Catholic Central junior Emily Tomes has the fastest time in Division 2 this fall of 17:33.6. St. Joseph senior Gail Vaikutis and junior Elena Figueroa posted the third and fourth-fastest season bests in Division 2 this fall while at the Portage Invitational, Vaikutis having finished 12th at last year’s Final and Figueroa 16th, and St. Johns’ freshman Ava Schafer is among the most intriguing newcomers in any division with the fifth-fastest season best in Division 2. Gaylord sophomore Katie Berkshire, VanOtteren, Vaikutis, Schafer, Lauinger, Linden junior Chloe Josephson, Croswell-Lexington senior Morgan Newton and Adrian junior Sophy Skeels joined Muller as Regional champs.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Traverse City St. Francis
2022 runner-up: Pewamo-Westphalia
2023 top-ranked: 1. Traverse City St. Francis, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Elk Rapids.
Balance was the name of the game in this division in 2022, with only four of the top 10 teams paced by more than one top-20 individual – and that could be the theme again this weekend. St. Francis and Hart have combined to win the last eight Division 3 championships, the Gladiators breaking Hart’s five-year hold on Division 3 last fall with a balanced lineup that has four runners back this weekend led by junior Betsy Skendzel, who finished seventh individually and has the fifth-fastest season-best time in Division 3 this fall. Lumen Christi is looking to move up from ninth last season as it pursues a first championship since 2012, with senior Madison Osterberg leading the charge with the third-fastest time on the season bests list. Elk Rapids was eighth a year ago and brings six runners back from that team led by sophomore Brynne Schulte.
Individuals: Hart junior Jessica Jazwinski leads another impressive group of returnees; she won last season’s championship by nearly 41 seconds and is one of 13 top-20 finishers back in this field. Jazwinski’s season-best time of 16:47.8 this fall is more than 41 seconds faster than the next and trails only Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Forsyth on the statewide list. Otsego junior Emmry Ross is second on the Division 3 list and finished third at last year’s Final, and Central Montcalm junior Kyah Hoffman is fourth on the Division 3 season-best list and finished ninth a year ago. Kent City junior Lila Volkers, Benzie Central senior Mylie Kelly and Lansing Catholic senior Tessa Roe also are back from the individual top 10 in 2022. Skendzel, Jazwinski, Volkers, Buchanan junior Emma Miller, Ross, Hoffman, Pinconning senior Kinsie Jacques, Roe and Ypsilanti Arbor Prep junior Eliza Bush were Regional champions in this division.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Johannesburg-Lewiston
2022 runner-up: Hillsdale Academy
2023 top-ranked: 1. Johannesburg-Lewiston, 2. Muskegon Western Michigan Christian, 3. Whitmore Lake.
Johannesburg-Lewiston’s championship last season was its first in any sport in school history, and the Cardinals are lined up to double their success with five of last season’s seven runners back including third-place Allie Nowak and seventh-place Yolanda Gascho. Nowak, now a junior, is fourth on the Division 4 season-bests list this fall. Gascho, a senior, is joined by freshman Harlie Fox and senior Madalyn Agren also among the top 30. Western Michigan Christian is back in Division 4 after winning the 2021 title and finishing 14th in Division 3 last fall, when junior Grace VanderKooi was 16th individually. Whitmore Lake was third last season with three freshmen among its top four, and all of those top four are back with sophomore Carina Burchi seventh on the season bests list after finishing fourth last season and freshman Kaylie Livingston joining the elite with the second-fastest season best in the division this fall.
Individuals: The top five placers and 17 of the top 20 individuals from 2022 are back, with Buckley senior Aiden Harrand seeking a repeat after winning last season’s title by 13 seconds. She has the top time in Division 4 this season at 17:39.6, just under a second faster than Livingston’s best of 17:40.4, and VanderKooi is next with a best of 18:24.7. Auburn Hills Oakland Christian junior Eliza Keith, Allen Park Cabrini senior Ava Teed (fifth) and Mendon sophomore Rowan Allen (ninth) join those mentioned above as also back from last season’s top 10, and Teed and Gobles freshman Libby Smith rank fifth and sixth, respectively, on the Division 4 season bests list. Nowak, Harrand, Vestaburg junior Abigail Davis, VanderKooi, Concord freshman Haley Stimer, Livingston, Pittsford senior Brooke Smith, Kingston sophomore Lilah Kiley and Teed were Regional champions over the weekend.
PHOTO Otsego takes off during the start of last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final, including returning runners Logan Brazee (1310), Megan Germain (1312), Emma Hoffman (1313) and Taylor Mitchell (1315). (Photo by Gary Shook.)
Sachs Surges from Start to Lead Holland West Ottawa to LPD1 Finals Sweep
November 5, 2022
BROOKLYN – Helen Sachs of Holland West Ottawa doesn’t run alone in many cross country meets, which is unusual for an elite runner.
The best runners have to learn to race solo, because there will be meets in which they can simply overwhelm the competition.
But there is always at least one worthy competitor nearby when Sachs races. She runs on the same team as senior Arianne Olson, herself one of the top contenders at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
So, Sachs was surprised to find herself already alone at the front just 200 meters into the race. She never allowed the pack to catch up, winning by 24.73 seconds with a time of 17:18.74.
“I saw nobody in front of me except for the start when they all went off,” said Sachs, a sophomore. “I was just in front. I was like someone is gonna be coming up behind me, because I know the state meet is when people just go for it. No one came up with me.
“It was kind of weird. I was looking forward to some competition or people to run with. It was still fun to run in such a big race, though. It was cool.”
Sachs won eight of her 10 races this season, placing second in the other two to Olson. Olson, who was third in Division 1 last season, placed ninth this time in 18:27.13.
That powerful 1-2 punch up front allowed West Ottawa to win the team championship in dominant fashion, 97-172 over runner-up Romeo.
The Panthers placed their five scoring runners in the top 50, while every other contending team had at least one scoring runner place in the 100s.
Training daily with such a powerful team helped Sachs become an MHSAA champion.
“I just picked up on the dedication, getting everything in,” she said. “Our coaches this year focused more on recovery, like running easy, focusing on recovery, which has helped the mindset of everyone on the team.”
Sachs was a ready-made contributor to the West Ottawa program, finishing fifth in Division 1 last season. But even after finishing among the state’s elite a year ago, she didn’t believe she could win an MHSAA individual championship until she started winning big races early this year.
“It’s surreal,” she said. “Last year I was fifth. This year, winning the state championship was crazy. It doesn’t feel real.”
Rounding out the West Ottawa scorers were 38th-place senior Megan Postma, 49th-place sophomore Jane Olney and 50th-place freshman Ava Porras. Grandville senior Allison Arnsman was the individual runner-up in 17:43.47.
PHOTOS (Top) Holland West Ottawa’s Helen Sachs closes in on the finish and her first MHSAA Finals championship. (Middle) West Ottawa’s Arianne Olson and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s Clara James-Heer lead another pack down the stretch. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)