Squires Leads Petoskey to 1st Finals Win
November 6, 2020
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN – Petoskey was outmatched last year and knew it.
“East Grand Rapids had an amazing year,” Petoskey senior Emma Squires said. “Last year, even at our best, we would have never beaten them.”
It was a different story this year. The Northmen returned all five of their scoring runners from a team that took second to East Grand Rapids by 56 points last year in the MHSAA Division 2 cross country championship race. East Grand Rapids was ranked No. 1, just ahead of Petoskey, coming into Friday’s MHSAA Finals at Michigan International Speedway, but had graduated individual champion Anna Petr.
The loss of Petr was just the opening Petoskey needed to break through and win its first MHSAA championship by a 68-79 margin over the Pioneers.
This year, it was Petoskey that had the individual champion. Squires ran the fastest time in the two Division 2 heats Friday in an MHSAA Final that was altered to reduce the size of fields.
Squires ran a time of 17 minutes, 54.56 seconds to finish ahead of Mason freshman Meghan Ford, who ran 18:18.08.
“I knew a freshman was my biggest competition,” Squires said. “Just having more experience, I knew I had to get out fast, kind of scare them a little bit. That’s what I did. I went out really strong. I was a little scared around the middle. I was so tired already.”
It was the fourth MHSAA Final for Squires, who was 36th in 19:19.9 as a freshman, seventh in 18:45.3 as a sophomore and fifth in 18:27.1 as a junior.
“It’s been a progression, but I’ve always died in the last mile,” Squires said. “I was really trying hard not to this year.”
Bringing the title home for Petoskey were Cambrie Smith in ninth place (19:01.69), Noel Vanderwall in 17th (19:14.65), Sarah Liederbach in 28th (19:39.73) and Caroline Farley in 36th (19:54.99).
“Our second girl, she moved here from Gaylord two years ago,” Squires said. “She’s kind of been my training partner. It’s been really exciting and helpful to have someone to pace with. We’ve all been working together. Our whole team has been trying to get to that state championship. We did this year.”
Petoskey, a 22-time Finals qualifier, previously placed second in 2002 and 2019.
PHOTOS: (Top) Petoskey’s Emma Squires sprints toward the finish at Friday’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) Caroline Farley, left, and Otsego’s Chelsea Glessner (320) push through the final stretch. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
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.)