Stellar Debut, 4-Peat Kick Off Girls Finals

November 3, 2018

Second Half reports

BROOKLYN — Other states have reputations for producing great athletes in other sports, but Michigan is known for cranking out elite high school cross country runners.

The latest running phenom to come out of the state is freshman Abby VanderKooi of Muskegon Western Michigan Christian.

VanderKooi could turn out to be the best female runner to come out of Michigan if she’s able to continue progressing on an already incredible ninth-grade season.

VanderKooi ran the fifth-fastest time ever by a freshman girl at Michigan International Speedway, winning the MHSAA Division 4 individual title in 17:47.3 on Saturday.

It was a solo coronation for one of the top freshmen in the nation. She won by 1 minute, 15.6 seconds over Madison Volz of Lansing Christian, the largest margin of victory ever in a girls MHSAA final meet. It edged out the 1:15.5 difference between Rochester’s Megan Goethals, who went on to win the Foot Locker national championship that year, and Hartland’s Avery Evenson in the 2009 Division 1 meet.

VanderKooi is the first freshman in United States history to break 17 minutes three times. She did it in her second high school meet and posted her personal best of 16:57.3 in the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association meet Oct. 12 at University Park Golf Course in Muskegon.

The muddy conditions at MIS made it difficult to chase personal records Saturday, but her time still is second all-time in Division 4. Breckenridge’s Kristen Olling won her fourth MHSAA title in 2013 in 17:44.9.

The incredible part is VanderKooi is in only her second year of competitive running. She began running for fun as an 8-year-old, but didn’t begin racing until eighth grade.

“I knew I had a good chance to win it, but in my whole life I never thought I’d get to this point,” VanderKooi said.

It was her first race at MIS, but not her first trip to the site of the Cross Country Finals. Her brother, Nick, was a four-time all-stater at Fremont Providence Christian, running the Division 4 meet from 2009-12.

“My brother, Nick, is graduated now and on to college,” she said. “I’ve been coming here since he was a freshman in high school, so I’ve been coming here since I was very little. It was more fun watching it, because you’re not as nervous.”

VanderKooi’s performance helped Western Michigan Christian place third with 199 points, the best finish in school history.

In the end, Division 4 continued to be the domain of Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.

The Irish won their fourth straight team championship, holding off a strong Saugatuck squad by a 69-82 margin.

Desiree McConnell was sixth in 19:44.7, Scout Nelson was eighth in 19:50.1, Lauren MacDonald was 10th in 19:50.7, Cammie McConnell was 18th in 20:13.3 and Hannah Wilkinson was 55th in 21:26.5 for Sacred Heart.

Nelson and MacDonald ran at MIS for all four championships.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) Muskegon Western Michigan Christian freshman Abby VanderKooi charges through the finish of her first MHSAA Finals championship run. (Middle) Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s Desiree McConnell (1789) and Lauren MacDonald push through a straightaway in helping the Irish to another team title. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)

Fornari, Sacred Heart Join Finals Greats

November 7, 2015

By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half

BROOKLYN — The feeling of elation had yet to replace the feeling a runner gets after laying it all on the line.

Walking away from the finish line, Tessa Fornari of Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes was breathing heavily, even though she finished with plenty of breathing room to win the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 individual cross country championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.

"I don't think it's really sunk in yet," Fornari said as she continued to walk. 

After a couple of heavy breaths and a pause, it had apparently sunk in.

"I'm gonna cry," she said. 

Fornari, a senior, led last year's Division 4 Final through the mile, but faded to eighth in a race won by Ava Strenge of Battle Creek St. Philip. This year, Fornari let Strenge lead most of the way before overtaking her to win in 18:14.5. Strenge, a junior, was second in 18:23.5.

"Oh, my gosh," Fornari said. "There's so much time leading up to this one moment. All the pace work, all the pain. Finally, right here, is where it all gets paid back." 

It was a wiser and more confident Fornari who stood on the start line for the first of eight races on Saturday at MIS.

She had two MHSAA championships on her resume from last spring, winning the 1,600-meter run in 5:06.39 and coming back to take the 3,200 in 11:33.70 at the LP Division 4 Track and Field Final. Last fall had represented a step backward in cross country for Fornari, who was third in the cross country finals in 2012 and second in 2013. She is a four-time regional champion. 

"The 1,600 and 3,200 in track really prepared me for this," Fornari said. "A state title was kind of intimidating to me at first, but then I did it and realized it's really just a title. It's about running the best you can that day. Today I wanted to do the best I could. I know I did my best, because I can't feel my legs or my arms."

Scrapping her front-running tactics from last year, Fornari didn't make her move until shortly after the leaders entered the track. Once Fornari committed to a move, it was decisive. 

"I didn't want to pass her at first, because I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep it," said Fornari, the first Our Lady of the Lakes boy or girl to win an MHSAA title in cross country. "I decided I had to do it at some point, so I did it at that turn back there. I just sprinted the last 800 meters, 1,000 meters, because I did not want to lose it. I said, 'I'm here now, I want to stay here,' so I sprinted the whole thing."

In the team race, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart staked a claim to being the best Division 4 girls team of all-time. 

The Irish set an LP Division 4 record with 52 points, breaking the record of 66 set by Harbor Springs in 2009. Sacred Heart also became the first Division 4 girls team to have five runners break the 20-minute mark at MIS.

Ann Arbor Greenhills had four runners break 20 minutes in 2005, but finished third that year because its fifth runner crossed in 23:10.9. 

Junior Alexis McConnell was fourth in 18:55.6, sophomore Bailley McConnell was fifth in 19:11.4, freshman Scout Nelson was 10th in 19:19.4, freshman Cammie McConnell was 17th in 19:31.2 and freshman Lauren MacDonald was 26th in 19:59.2.

The Irish could've still won by including No. 6 runner Megan Nowak (36th, 20:26.8) or No. 7 runner Rowan Fitzpatrick (20:45.0), both sophomores. All seven Sacred Heart runners broke 20 minutes in the Regional. 

Sacred Heart's only other MHSAA title came in Class D in 1999. The Irish was third last season, the second-best finish in school history.

Harbor Springs was second Saturday with 119 points, while Saugatuck was third with 124. Two-time reigning champion Beal City was fourth with 156 points. 

Click for full results.

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

PHOTOS: (Top) Waterford Our Lady’s Tessa Fornari races down the stretch on the way to the LP Division 4 individual title. (Middle) Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s Bailley McConnell, left, works to stay ahead of Concord’s Samantha Saenz. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)