Scott, Pilgrims Finish Championship Chase
November 7, 2020
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
BROOKLYN – After all the uncertainty of this past fall season, one thing is for sure.
Makenna Scott will be cuddled up with her puppy Milo tonight, gazing fondly at her cross country championship medal.
And who knows, she might even be eating a piece of ice cream cake.
“My parents told me last year that if I got top five I could get my dream puppy, so I got my Bernese Mountain Dog after getting fourth,” said Scott, a junior from Maple City Glen Lake High School. “And this year, they were like, ‘What do you want?’ I told them a state championship, I don’t need anything else — but maybe an ice-cream cake would be nice.”
Scott earned it after besting the field at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Girls Cross Country Finals. She moved into the lead down the final stretch and finished in a winning time of 19:30.2.
“As a freshman, I never thought this would be possible,” Scott said. “I’ve worked my butt off this season. I just can’t believe I did it.”
She said all the sacrifices she’s made have paid off. All of her emotions came out after learning she had won the championship.
“The dedication, having to give up time with my friends to make sure I can run. All the times I’ve said, ‘No, I can’t have a sleepover tonight.’ At the time I wondered, is it all going to be worth it in the end,” Scott said. “Just looking back at it, you really have to want it if you’re going to win a state championship.”
Lansing Christian’s Madison Volz, a senior, was the race leader through the first two miles. But as she neared the three-mile mark, her legs gave out on her. She gutted it out and finished 12th overall, earning all-state honors. Her efforts helped the Pilgrims capture the Division 4 team championship with a score of 93 points.
“She said she wasn’t going to finish the race, but she knew it mattered for the team score, so she just got up and walked it in, which was actually the difference,” her coach, Jonathan Watson said. “If she doesn’t finish, we don’t win.”
Sophomore Ashlyn Kephart led Lansing Christian with a sixth-place finish. Senior Natalie Tebben was ninth overall, followed by Volz. Also scoring for the Pilgrims were freshman Hope Tebben and junior Mia Judd.
“We had a goal at the beginning of the season,” Watkins said. “We knew we were in it and had a shot. Our girls worked really hard this year — with this as their goal — and so to get there I know is a relief for them.
“It was a fun day to watch them run their race and go after it.”
Kalamazoo Christian was runner-up, finishing with 142 points. Sophomores Aubrey Herder and Hope Zichterman led the way, finishing 18th and 21st overall.
Beal City was third behind strong finishes from junior Rachal Weber (fourth) and sophomores Tailor Onstott (13th) and Kaylee Locke (14th). Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart was fourth, and Hillsdale Academy rounded out the top five.
Individually, Webberville senior Sara Spalding finished runner-up in a time of 19:44.53. She ran in the first of two division races. Ubly’s Maze Gusa was third, while Weber and Buckley’s Aiden Harrand rounded out the top five.
PHOTOS: (Top) Maple City Glen Lake’s Makenna Scott pushes toward the Division 4 individual title Saturday. (Middle) Ashlyn Kephart crosses first for team champion Lansing Christian, coming in sixth overall. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Preview: New Crew Preparing to Emerge
November 1, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Over the course of Saturday, 986 runners will take part in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway – and with a number of contenders facing new championship scenarios and first-time title opportunities.
While last season’s races saw three repeat team champions, only two-time reigning Division 4 winner Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart is predicted to make it three titles in a row. At the same time, some shifting in divisions this fall has led to a few faces in new places, including the favorite in Division 2.
Below are some of the teams to watch and a glance at each of the individual fields as well. The first race of the day – Division 4 girls – starts at 9:30 a.m. 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.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Highland-Milford
2016 runner-up: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2017 top-ranked: 1. Rockford, 2. Northville, 3. Troy.
Rockford, Northville and Pioneer in some combination have been considered the favorites most of this season, but Troy moved into the top three for this week’s final ranking. Rockford has five of its top six from last year’s 14th-place team and placed five of the top seven to win a Regional last week that included No. 9 East Grand Rapids and honorable mention Grand Haven. Northville will return to MIS with two of its top three finishers and three from the seven overall that took third place last year; the Mustangs placed the top three in winning their Regional against a field that included No. 13 Salem. Troy was eighth at last season’s Final without a senior and has four runners back this weekend including three seniors. The Colts placed five of the top seven to win a Regional that included reigning Finals champ and No. 8-ranked Seaholm. Pioneer is paced by reigning individual runner-up and now-senior Anne Forsyth, along with three others from last year’s second-place team, and just edged No. 14 Saline to win its Regional.
Individuals: Forsyth is the highest returning placer from last year as champion Maggie Farrell from Battle Creek Lakeview graduated along with two more from the 2016 top 10. Macomb L’Anse Creuse North senior Karenna Duffey finished third both last season and as a freshman and had the fifth-fastest Regional time in the state last weekend behind Traverse City Central senior Sielle Kearney and Rockford junior Ericka VanderLende. Forysth and Kearney (seventh last season) both broke 17 minutes at the Benzie Central Invitational at the end of August, and Saline senior Jessi Larson outpaced Forsyth at their Regional. Also returning from last year’s top 10 are West Bloomfield junior Kyla Christopher-Moody, Grandville junior Madison Malon and Waterford Mott junior Rylee Robinson, while St. Joseph senior Anna Joseph was second in Division 2 a year ago. Robinson joined Kearney, Larson, Duffey and VanderLende as individual Regional champions last week, along with Troy senior Megan Worrel, Northville senior Ana Barrott, East Lansing freshman Abbie Draheim and Portage Northern junior Peyton Witt.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Otsego
2016 runner-up: East Grand Rapids
2017 top-ranked: 1. Lansing Catholic, 2 DeWitt, 3. Grand Rapids Christian.
Lansing Catholic, last season’s Division 3 runner-up, has shown among the best in Division 2 all fall with a lineup including last year’s top five runners and top-five D3 Finals finishers Olivia Theis (second), Lauren Cleary (third) and Jaden Theis (sixth). Right with the Cougars has been DeWitt, which finished ninth in Division 2 last year and has its top four from that team returning to MIS this weekend. The Cougars and Panthers ran at the same Regional on Saturday with Lansing Catholic winning by a 71-77 edge and the teams combining to place five of the top eight even though Jaden Theis didn’t run (and with No. 12 Mason and honorable mention Ada Forest Hills Eastern among others in the field). Grand Rapids Christian finished third at the Final last season and has four runners back from that team, and is coming off a Regional win against a field including No. 7 Allendale and No. 11 Spring Lake.
Individuals: Reigning champion Kayla Windemuller has won all of her races but one this fall, finishing second to Olivia Theis at the Portage Invitational a month ago. The Holland Christian senior won her Regional last week by a minute. Plainwell sophomore Makenna Veen (fourth), Goodrich junior Jillian Lange (seventh), Mason junior Cecilia Stalzer (eighth) and St. Johns sophomore Taryn Chapko (10th) also are back after posting top-10 finishes in 2016, Veen and Lange coming off Regional titles and Stalzer finished second at her Regional to Theis. Big Rapids junior Meghan Langworthy, Grand Rapids Christian freshman Carly Michele, Flint Powers Catholic senior Paige Deitering, Marysville junior Megan McCulloch and Monroe Jefferson senior Kaitlyn St. Bernard also won Regional titles last week.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Traverse City St. Francis
2016 runner-up: Lansing Catholic
2017 top-ranked: 1. Hart, 2. Benzie Central, 3. Saugatuck.
St. Francis has won the last two Division 3 titles but is ranked only No. 7 heading into this weekend, although the Gladiators do bring back five of their top six from a year ago. Hart was seventh at the 2016 Final but is paced by reigning champion and now-junior Adelyn Ackley plus seventh-place senior sister Alayna Ackley and standout freshmen Savannah and Lynae Ackley (Savannah is another sister to Adelyn and Alayna and Lynae is their cousin). Benzie Central and Saugatuck finished third and fourth, respectively, last year; both teams are returning five of their top six runners from those finishes. Saugatuck won its Regional and Benzie finished second to Hart and ahead of No. 6 Clare last weekend.
Individuals: With the Lansing Catholic leaders running in Division 2 this season, only five more top-10 Division 3 placers are back to join the oldest Ackleys at MIS – McBain junior Klaudia O’Malley (fourth), Shepherd junior Amber Gall (fifth), Traverse City St. Francis senior Joyana Tarsa (eighth) and Montrose senior Remington Hobson (10th). O’Malley finished second to Adelyn Hart at their Regional and Gall and Hobson took the top two spots, respectively, at theirs, but a number of others could move into the mix at the front this weekend. Bad Axe junior Jelena Prescott, Blissfield senior Casey Reed, New Lothrop senior Courtney Krupp, Hanover-Horton junior Judy Rector, Saugatuck junior Thea Johnson, Kent City junior Lauren Freeland and Charlevoix senior Michelle Bollini also won Division 3 Regional titles. Pewamo-Westphalia sophomore Aubrey George finished sixth in Division 4 last season as her team finished second, and the Pirates are in Division 3 this weekend. Harbor Springs and Division 4 eighth-placer Alyssa Kihnke also moved to Division 3 this season; Kihnke is a senior.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
2016 runner-up: Pewamo-Westphalia
2017 top-ranked: 1. Sacred Heart, 2. Lansing Christian, 3. Breckenridge.
Two-time reigning champion Sacred Heart might have been the easiest team to forecast this fall and comes back to MIS with five of last year’s runners back plus a sixth who was a top contributor before missing most of last season with an injury. The Irish placed the top five at last week’s Regional and six of the top seven. Lansing Christian has rushed into the elite after not sending anyone to last year’s Final; the Pilgrims, led by freshmen Madison Volz, Lexi Kinnas and Natalie Tebben, won their Regional last week ahead of No. 4 Fowler and No. 10 Plymouth Christian Academy. Breckenridge is looking to move up from fourth last year with five of their top seven back from the 2016 Final although the Huskies did come in second at their Regional last weekend to No. 7 Ubly.
Individuals: In addition to reigning runner-up and current senior Bailley McConnell from Sacred Heart, only Concord senior Samantha Saenz (third) and Kalamazoo Hackett senior Mary Ankenbauer (10th) will join her from last year’s top 10. Saenz and Ankenbauer both were Regional champs last week, and McConnell finished just behind junior teammate Scout Nelson. Lake Leelanau St. Mary senior Hanna Grant broke 19 minutes in winning her Regional by almost 50 seconds, while Rogers City freshman Morgan Baller, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian junior Josie Aardema, Pittsford junior Renee Osborne, Ubly junior Haili Gusa and Waterford Our Lady senior Olivia Hankey also were Regional winners.
PHOTO: Traverse City Central's Sielle Kearney, left, and Ann Arbor Pioneer's Anne Forsyth round a curve during the Spartan Invitational "elite" race earlier this fall. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)