Girls Cross Country

All three reigning team champions are loaded again. All three reigning individual champions are back in the field (even if two are this time running the same race). Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals at Pictured Rocks Golf Course in Munising ea...

After spending Saturday morning taking the SAT, Rockford's Ericka VanderLende ran the second-fastest time of the day at the prestigious Portage Invitational, besting the field by 45 seconds with a 17:33 to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the ...

The runners on the Fenton girls and boys cross country teams admired and respected coach Jesse Anderson before he placed 20th overall at the 2018 Boston Marathon. But that performance definitely didn’t hurt his credibility.

Every year since 1993, Gull Lake’s runners have carried a game ball from their football opponent’s school to the Blue Devils’ stadium in advance of the Homecoming game. Previously, the longest trip was 72 miles from Niles. But this fall, Gull Lake&rsq...

Running fever is running rampant in Ellsworth, and it’s got quite a grip on the small Antrim County school. Despite having fewer than 100 students in their high school, the Lancers’ boys and girls cross country teams thrive on a statewide level, thanks to n...

Hanover-Horton senior Judy Rector has returned from injury to become a two-time MHSAA Finals track champion, and she’s surged into her senior cross country season pacing among the state’s elite in that sport as well.  Rector ran a personal-record 18:07...

Finally, a pleasant memory at Michigan International Speedway for Rockford junior Ericka VanderLende. Her first two trips around the cross country course at MIS were OK, but weren’t indications of the greatness that awaited her.

Of the thousands of girls who have run in the MHSAA Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway, only one had ever broken the 17-minute barrier. Winning the 2009 Lower Peninsula Division 1 meet in 16:54.8 just a month before winning the national Foot Locker ...

The arrival of four girls from the same family at Hart High School resulted in a day the Pirates have never experienced in any sport. With four Ackley girls finishing in the team’s top four spots, Hart won the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 cross country champi...

When Samantha Saenz of Concord needs training partners or racing advice, she leans upon the school’s boys team. “I don’t have many girls on my team, so I train with the boys, so that helps,” she said. “They’re fast.”

Macomb L'Anse Creuse North senior Karenna Duffey, coming off her fourth Macomb County championship and a repeat Macomb Area Conference Red title as well, ran the state’s fifth-fastest time of last weekend to win her third Regional title and earn the Michigan Army ...

Former college teammates Calvin Ackley and Rob McConnell used to joke that if their seven “little girls” ever took up cross country, and ran on the same team one day, that maybe, just maybe, they could win an MHSAA Finals championship.  The one team th...

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 s...

Daisy Englund had a couple of very reachable goals when she began this fall’s Upper Peninsula cross country championship race. The Rock Mid-Peninsula freshman wanted to finish ahead of her running partner and teammate Landry Koski and get into the top 15 placers ...

Nobody could catch Negaunee sophomore Emily Paupore at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals. Paupore ran the day’s fastest time, covering the 3.1-mile course at Pictured Rocks Golf Club in 19 minutes, 22.3 seconds on this sunny, warm and br...

Of 30 runners who finished among the top 10 in an Upper Peninsula Girls Cross Country Final last season, 18 will be returning for another championship opportunity Saturday at Pictured Rocks Golf Club in Munising. And if that’s not sign enough that the competition...

Today, you’ll find her seated behind a desk in Denver.  A CPA and the mother of three, including a former Olympic speed skater, Beth Jurgensmeyer still runs. The MHSAA’s first girls individual cross country champion, she was introduced to the spor...

After missing out on winning her first Finals championship last fall by less than a second, Lansing Catholic senior Olivia Theis is undefeated at the 5K distance this fall.  On Friday, she outpaced the toughest field the state has seen this season to date &nd...

Kayla Windemuller typically follows directions well on the cross country course and has rarely been beaten during an already banner high school career. And even when the Holland Christian senior loses her way, the final outcome doesn’t change.

“Begin with the end in mind.” Those words were at the heart of Julie Duffing’s preseason message to her Traverse City St. Francis cross country teams last month. Benzie Central as well is focused on building its strongest team with the future in mind.