Rochester's Cook, Dakota's Harberts Finding Fastest Strides at Championship Time

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

October 27, 2022

Peaking right before the biggest events is obviously something every athlete wants to do. But executing such a desire is way easier said than done.

Greater DetroitFortunately for cross country runners Jayden Harberts and Lucy Cook – top-10 finishers at last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final – that hasn’t been an issue.

With Regional meets this weekend and this season’s Finals at Michigan International Speedway the Saturday after that, Harberts and Cook reaching their top form right now might be bad news for other runners around the state.

Harberts, a junior at Macomb Dakota, earlier this month won her third consecutive Macomb County championship in a time of 18:25 at Stony Creek Metropark.

But Dakota coach Tom Zarzycki said that’s not all she’s done.

“She’s run three of her four fastest times within the last month,” Zarzycki said. “She’s definitely on the upswing.”

The same can be said for Cook, a sophomore at Rochester.

Cook won her second-straight Oakland County championship at Kensington Metropark in a time of 18:45.5.

Despite being slowed by an illness earlier in the year, Cook appears to be at full strength at the right time.

“She’s got a tremendous amount of passion and she is 110 percent into everything she is doing,” said Rochester coach Amy Oppat. “She’s easy to coach from that aspect. She’s hard on herself because she cares.”

For Harberts, she hopes to better her seventh-place Finals finish from last year.

She ran a personal record of 17:31 on Oct. 22 at the Macomb Area Conference championships, and she credits enhanced mental strength for her performances this fall.

“For me this year, it’s been a lot of mental growth,” Harberts said. “Last year, I didn’t (personal record) in cross country, so I’ve been waiting a while. I think physically I’ve gotten a lot stronger too. But it’s a lot of mental strength for me.”

Cook, who finished sixth at the LPD1 Final in 2021, followed up her Oakland County title by winning the OAA White championship Oct. 20 in a time of 18:34.1.

The comfort and confidence she gained doing so well at the Final last year has obviously showed this fall, and Oppat said Cook is ahead of where she was at this time last season.

“It was my first big meet,” Cook said of running at MIS in 2021. “I was just going to see how it went and try my best. It was a pretty big personal record.”

Both Harberts and Cook also shined during track season this past spring.

At the LPD1 Track & Field Finals on June 4, Harberts placed third in 3,200 meter run with a time of 10:26.16 and 11th in 1,600 meter run in a time of 4:57.87, while Cook was second in the 3,200 run in a time of 10:23.24.

Cook said distance running is “better for me than sprinting,” while Harberts echoed that sentiment that distance races have long been a better fit for her.

“I like to build my race up,” Harberts said. “It’s not like a sprint where I have to be fast the whole time. It’s more strategic.”

Harberts and Dakota will run Saturday in a Regional at Goodells Park in Wales Township, while Cook and Rochester will run at Hess-Hathaway Park in Waterford.

Given what each has achieved lately, it’s a good bet they’ll still be peaking after the weekend, with all eyes then toward the Finals race.

“I just have to remember to keep running my own race,” Harberts said. “Hopefully I can continue to do that again this year.”

Keith DunlapKeith 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 Rochester’s Lucy Cook, left, and Macomb Dakota’s Jayden Harberts finished sixth and seventh, respectively, at last season’s LPD1 Final at Michigan International Speedway. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)

Division 1 Winners Lead Speedy Packs

November 7, 2015

By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half

BROOKLYN — Panic set in, but only momentarily.

With all of the pressure that takes place in an MHSAA Cross Country Final, a runner could easily become unraveled by the unexpected. 

Like a fall, for instance.

Grandville sophomore Madison Troy went to the ground during a gravel section of the Michigan International Speedway course midway through the Lower Peninsula Division 1 meet Saturday. Afterward, she bore scuff marks on her right shoulder, hands and legs from the tumble. 

But she also wore the smile of a champion, having quickly composed herself. She got back in the lead pack, then pulled away from a three-girl race down the final stretch to win in 17:28.2. Close behind were Saline sophomore Jessi Larson (17:30.9) and Farmington senior Maddy Trevisan (17:31.7).

Troy said she was in third or fourth place when she fell. 

"It wasn't too bad," said Troy, Grandville's first individual champion. "I fell all the way through on my back. I quickly got up, because I didn't want to lose my spot. I was nervous at first. I thought I was going to fall behind."

Troy finished 13th in the Final last year in 18:15.8. She had to beat six runners who placed higher than her a year ago. 

"I was hoping to win by my junior or senior year," Troy said. "This year was not unexpected, because I knew if I gave it a lot, I'd be able to."

Some rivalries to watch may have formed Saturday, as three of the top four were sophomores. Traverse City Central 10th-grader Sielle Kearney was fourth in 17:41.2. 

"It's hard to push yourself when you don't have a group to run with, so that was nice," Troy said.

Troy was coming off a personal-best 17:20.5 performance to win the Regional on the fast Portage Central course. Coming within eight seconds of that time was a solid effort on the wind-swept MIS course. 

In the team race, Birmingham Seaholm won for the third time in the last four years, despite graduating two-time champion Audrey Belf (Georgetown) and 2014 runner-up Rachel DaDamio (Notre Dame).

The Maples scored 90 points to beat second-place Brighton by 46. 

Without two stars at the front, Seaholm won with a solid pack. The Maples' top four runners finished 16.7 seconds apart, with all five scorers breaking 19 minutes.

Junior Audrey Ladd was 11th (18:06.3), sophomore Rachel McCardell 16th (18:21.6), senior Mary Sanders 18th (18:21.9), senior Patty Girardot 19th (18:23.0) and sophomore Emily Rooney 53rd (18:54.6). 

Neither of the top two teams had a runner in the top 10, as fifth-ranked Brighton also came away with the runner-up trophy because of a tight pack.

Brighton's five scoring runners finished 22 seconds apart, as the Bulldogs had their best finish since placing second in 1993. Senior Kirsten McGahan was Brighton's first finisher in 28th place (18:32.1), but she was quickly followed by junior Miranda Reynolds (29th, 18:32.3), senior Jenna Sica (18:34.3), sophomore Lauren Parrell (43rd, 18:49.5) and sophomore Lexi Reynolds (51st, 18:54.1). 

Milford, which beat Brighton for the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West championship, was third with 149 points.

Click for full results.

The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.

PHOTOS: (Top) Grandville’s Madison Troy (1052) stays just ahead of Saline’s Jessi Larson (1146) and Farmington’s Maddy Trevisan (1031) during the final meters of the Division 1 Final. (Middle) Birmingham Seaholm’s Patty Girardot (1005) leads a pack that includes teammates Mary Sanders (1009) and Rachel McCardell (1007), plus Midland Dow’s Emily Wall. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)