Windemuller, Otsego Set Pace in D2
November 5, 2016
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN – Kayla Windemuller was exhausted from a championship effort.
The Holland Christian junior didn’t have much left in her after winning the MHSAA Division 2 individual championship Saturday with a time of 18:06.4.
A race volunteer helped a weary Windemuller make her way down the long finish area at Michigan International Speedway. As they reached a two-foot cement barrier that runners’ stepped over on their way out of the chute, Windemuller sat there and tried to get her bearings while the volunteer got her a cup of water.
When her mother came along and put her arm around her, it seemed to dawn on Windemuller what had just taken place.
“I won,” Windemuller said with a smile, a reassuring sign of life.
Indeed, she did.
Windemuller put the hammer down in the final mile to win by 24.5 seconds over St. Joseph junior Anna Fischer. Reigning champion Erika Freyhof, a senior from Hamilton, was third in 18:32.4.
Windemuller was second by 21.8 seconds to Freyhof, a long-time rival, in last year’s MHSAA Final. Windemuller and Freyhof compete in the same conference and the same Regional.
“I think there were two races this year that I haven’t raced her,” Windemuller said. “It’s fun. I like racing against her. We have a really good friendship, and we push each other to do our best.
“I really love racing against her. It’s our very last cross country race together, so it’s bittersweet.”
It was during track and field that Windemuller began to close the gap between her and Freyhof. Windemuller swept the 1,600 and 3,200 meters in the MHSAA Division 2 meet during the spring.
“During track season, we were really close in all our races, so that built my confidence for this year,” Windemuller said.
In the team competition, Otsego shattered the Division 2 record by scoring 48 points to repeat as champion. The previous mark of 79 points was set by East Grand Rapids in 2003.
It was East Grand Rapids that was a distant second with 187 points, finishing as runner-up for the second straight year. Grand Rapids Christian was third with 208 points, extending its record streak of top-five finishes to 15.
Otsego put its five scoring runners in the top 14 among team competitors.
Senior Megan Aalberts was fourth in the team race in 18:47.1, senior Sophia Hirzel was sixth in 18:56.5, sophomore Sydney Kubiak was 11th in 19:12.2, senior Erica Drobny was 13th in 19:19.8 and junior Maddie Marciniak was 14th in 19:20.1. All five crossed before East Grand Rapids’ first runner.
Aalberts, Hirzel and Drobny all have run in the MHSAA Finals for teams that placed third in 2013, second in 2014 and first the last two years.
The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Holland Christian’s Kayla Windemuller approaches the 2-mile mark Saturday in the lead. (Middle) Sophia Hirzel (1375) leads a group of Otsego runners preparing to break away from a large pack. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
VanderKooi, Hart Extend Title Streaks
November 7, 2020
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
BROOKLYN – Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s Abby VanderKooi did so well Saturday at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals that she can’t wait for next year to get here.
The junior won the Division 4 championship as both a freshman and sophomore. This year, her team was bumped up to Division 3. The team did not qualify for the Finals. But VanderKooi did, and she shined on the state’s biggest stage.
“My motivation was to break the course record (for Division 3),” VanderKooi said. “That was my goal. Hopefully, next year we move back to D4 because I want to break that record too.”
Her time of 17:12.47 bettered the previous-best Division 3 time by more than 30 seconds. And she did it running in the first of two races of the session. All teams that finished third at their Regional, as well as all individual qualifiers, ran first. All Regional champions and runners-up competed in the second race. They were split to help limit the number of competitors in each race.
VanderKooi led her race from start to finish, and her split times would have had her leading the second race at each of the three mile marks, and of course the finish. She crossed the finish line 1:31 ahead of her nearest competitor, Allison Chmielewski of Roscommon (18:43.76), who finished sixth overall.
“I ran my best. I ran my hardest, and that’s all I could do,” said VanderKooi, who if given the opportunity will look to make amends for her less-than-stellar performances in her previous two Division 4 races. “I ran very poorly the last two years at states. I ran an 18:11 last year, which for me is not good. My iron was low, and we didn’t know it. The year before, that course was ridiculously awful.”
She was extremely happy with Saturday’s performance.
“I’m very happy with that (time),” she said. “I broke the record. I just got this new watch, and it told me that my predicted 5K time was like a 17:22, and I was like, ‘I’d love to run that time.’”
Hart captured its fourth straight Division 3 team championship, finishing three runners among the top five and four in the top 10 while piecing together a team score of 59. Freshman Alyson Enns was second overall in a time of 18:05.97. Senior Savannah Ackley was third, junior Audrianna Enns fifth and senior Lynae Ackley 10th overall. Junior Lauren Vanderlaan rounded out the team’s scoring.
“It never gets old, but you never know until the day comes,” Hart head coach Terry Tatro said. “We just take things one day at a time and hope that you have your best race of the season here. The girls ran pretty well today. As a coach, I always think they can do better, but winning a state championship, they ran as good as I could expect them to.”
Ithaca, led by junior Lani Bloom’s fourth-place finish (18:32.26), placed second as a team with 114 points. Senior Grace Weburg finished 23rd overall for the Yellowjackets.
Grandville Calvin Christian was third overall (121 points), followed by St. Louis (195) and Benzie Central (217) among the top five.
PHOTOS: (Top) Western Michigan Christian’s Abby VanderKooi closes in Saturday on her third MHSAA Finals championship. (Middle) Hart freshman Audrianna Enns approaches the finish line leading for the eventual team champ. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)