Schafer Finishes Undefeated Season, Goodrich Claims 1st Title Since 2005
November 2, 2024
BROOKLYN — It took Ava Schafer of St. Johns a year to make a significant dent in her cross country personal record.
She wouldn’t have wanted to make her breakthrough anywhere else than on the biggest stage in Michigan high school cross country.
Schafer completed an undefeated sophomore season by winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final with a time of 17 minutes, 20.7 seconds Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
She was fourth in Division 2 as a freshman in 17:53.8, then ran 17:32.6 in the postseason Michigan Meet of Champions. Schafer eclipsed her best time by 0.2 seconds when she won the Greater Lansing Cross Country Championships on Oct. 12 before taking an even greater chunk off her PR Saturday.
“This season hasn’t been all PRs,” Schafer said. “It’s been about the same times as last year. I’m really proud of this one. It will boost my confidence in my performance and my times.”
Schafer had a solo run down the final stretch at MIS, winning by 10.3 seconds ahead of Otsego junior Emma Hoffman. Hoffman led at the mile in 5:28.7 and two mile in 11:10.8, with Schafer sticking close to her before Schafer’s move with about a mile remaining.
It was a clash between two runners who hadn’t lost a race all year. Schafer won all 10 of her races, while Hoffman won all 13 before Saturday.
“I was really excited and nervous coming out to this, because based on time I was ranked third,” Schafer said. “I was hoping to get first, which I did. It’s just really exciting to PR here at such a big meet, and we’re at states. Everybody is racing each other, so the times really mean something.”
In the team race, Goodrich returned to the top for the first time since winning three straight Division 3 championships from 2003-05.
The top-ranked Martians scored 134 points to win by 16 over second-ranked Zeeland East.
For Goodrich, it’s been a steady climb in recent years to return to supremacy. The Martians missed the Finals in 2019, placed 22nd in 2020, 10th in 2021, seventh in 2022 and third in 2023.
Seniors Kamryn Lauinger and Avery Byrne were the building blocks of Goodrich’s championship team, running in four MHSAA Finals.
Lauinger was 19th in 18:36.7, sophomore Alivia Ottinger was 22nd in 18:37.8, Byrne was 42nd in 19:06.6, senior Layla Jordan was 44th in 19:08.4 and freshman Kayla Shellenbarger was 47th in 19:10.6.
How deep was Goodrich? The Martians didn’t need to include Claire Brown’s 50th-place 19:12.1 or Baylor Lauinger’s 66th-place 19:34.3 in their score.
PHOTOS (Top) St. Johns’ Ava Schafer finishes an undefeated season during the final stretch of Saturday’s Division 2 race. (Middle) Goodrich’s Avery Byrne (661) and Layla Jordan (662) run in a pack that also included Pinckney’s Madalynn Karsies (719). (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)
Jazwinski Repeats in Record Fashion, Osterberg Paces Lumen Christi Team Title
November 4, 2023
BROOKLYN — Hart junior Jessica Jazwinski has been so dominant in cross country that she needs to mentally conjure up competition to keep pushing herself.
“I try to think there’s a girl right behind me,” she said. “So, I’m always practicing, ‘OK, there’s a girl right behind me. If I don’t push myself as hard as I can, she’s going to beat me.’
“That’s kind of what I do.”
That mental game pushed Jazwinski to a record-breaking performance Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, because there certainly weren’t any real opponents breathing down her neck.
Jazwinski’s time of 17:08.8 broke the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals record of 17:12.5 set by Abby Vanderkooi of Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in 2020.
She won by a whopping 40.7 seconds ahead of Jackson Lumen Christi senior Madison Osterberg, whose 17:49.5 performance is the 11th-fastest ever by a Division 3 girl.
“I just wanted to crush it as hard as I could today,” Jazwinski said. “I was really happy with the outcome. I knew I wanted to push myself as hard as I could. I knew there were some really tough girls in this race. I didn’t know how they would go out and if anyone was going to try to run with me. I think all the girls helped push me to run as fast as I did today.”
After placing third as a freshman, Jazwinski has won the last two Division 3 championships.
She has won 13 races in a row since placing second to Division 1 star Rachel Forsyth of Ann Arbor Pioneer in the season-opening Peter Moss Invite at Benzie Central. Even though Forsyth has won all of her races this season, Jazwinski didn’t use that fact as any source of comfort.
“I was really disappointed, because I really wanted to try to win that race,” Jazwinski said. “She’s an amazing competitor. I’m excited to race her after the season, too. It lit a fire under my butt, because I didn’t want to lose again. It kind of was motivation, because I didn’t want to lose. I learned a lot from that race.”
Osterberg isn’t someone who is used to losing races, but she was thrilled with her runner-up performance, particularly after placing 50th last year.
“This is a dream come true,” Osterberg said. “Last year, I was in the top 10 and I fell apart and got 50th. I’ve been thinking about this meet for a year to try to help my team. I’m so blessed that I finished on both feet.”
Osterberg did indeed help her team, leading Lumen Christi to its 10th Finals championship and first since 2012. The second-ranked Titans scored 140 points to defeat top-ranked Traverse City St. Francis by 37.
Freshman Samantha Schroeder was 13th, sophomore Macy Fazekas was 43rd, senior Sydney Fazekas was 50th and junior Layla Lopez was 82nd for Lumen Christi.
PHOTOS (Top) Hart’s Jessica Jazwinski closes in on a repeat Division 3 championship Saturday at MIS. (Middle) Jackson Lumen Christi’s Madison Osterberg finishes runner-up in leading the Titans to the team title. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)