Cross Country State Finals Recap: Bowers, Macri, and Reimer Earn All-State Honors
Saturday wrapped up the official MHSAA cross country season with state finals competition held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Many runners competed both with their teams and individually from our area, with approximately half of all athletes seeing a new season or a personal best.
Winner: Kamari Ronfeldt, Ann Arbor Pioneer. 14:45.
What it took to be All-State (top 30): 15:40.
Grant Davis (PHN) and Anchor Bay’s Sebastian Azar and Brandon Ziehmer were the only three Division 1 athletes competing at the state meet from our area.
Davis finished in 16:32 (150th), while Azar and Ziehmer were 106th and 108th, both running new personal bests of 16:18.
Winner: Natasza Dudek, Ann Arbor Pioneer. 16:26.
What it took to be All-State (top 30): 18:13.
While Romeo isn’t technically in our coverage area, it’s definitely worth noting that Annie Hrabovsky took fourth in 17:07. Alannah Wessel, formerly a MACH runner, was able to compete in her first state meet and took 20th in 17:57, her best race yet. They finished fourth as a team.
Winner: Bobby Jazwinski, Whitehall. 14:49 (D2 record).
What it took to be All-State (top 30): 15:58.
Josh Macri of Lutheran North wrapped up his final high school cross-country race with his second All-State honor, finishing 27th in 15:57. He remains the fastest Blue Water Area runner for the entirety of the 2026 season, and he now ranks 16th all-time for the area.
Connor Pepin of Cros-Lex ran his personal best in his last race, putting an exclamation point on his continued improvement over the last two years. Moving up 15 spots between miles two and three, Pepin rose from 57th place to come just within reach of the top 30, ultimately finishing 36th in 16:04.
80: Ethan Kreger, St. Clair. 16:33 PR.
120: Brady VanConant, Yale. 16:48.
150: Griffin Kreger, St. Clair. 16:59.
155: Brendan Koza, Marysville. 17:02.
158: Charlie Fields, North Branch. 17:05.
164: Caleb McBride, Marysville. 17:07.
169: Weston Rutallie, Marysville. 17:13 PR.
198: Noah Miller, Yale. 17:30.
220: Dawson Smith, Marysville. 17:55 PR.
241: Mason Pietrykowski, Richmond. 18:13.
244: Logan Carrier, Yale. 18:21.
249: Jeremy Johnson, Marysville. 18:30
253: Carter Krause, Yale. 18:40.
255: Thomas Schweihofer, Yale. 19:09.
256: Brian May, Yale. 19:29.
258: Brennan Simmons, Marysville. 19:29.
260: Boone Sklba, Yale. 19:30.
262: Eric Sylvia, Marysville. 21:32.
Out of 28 teams, Marysville was 26th overall, while Yale was 28th.
Winner: Avery Engbers, Holland Christian. 17:29.
What it took to be All-State: 18:44.
Samantha Whitlam of Macomb Lutheran North moved her name to the top of this season’s times list with her first sub-19, taking 36th place in 18:59. The senior wraps up her cross country career with her personal best, just a few spots from the podium.
Lutheran North won Regionals as a team, so their top seven all raced at MIS. They finished 19th out of 27 teams.
136: Lucy Gump, 20:23.
151: Avery Stallman, 20:34.
153: Evelyn Buckley, 20:36.
216: Ariana Macri, 21:49.
248: Alaina Meinka, 23:31.
Saige Cole of Yale was the next highest individual finisher from our area, taking 96th in 19:52. Armada’s Layla Tedder (129th; 20:16) and Claire Albrecht (156th; 20:40) competed for the Tigers, while Cros-Lex’s Madelyn Barkley 20:42 to take 158th.
Winner: Nole Lorenzen, Rochester Hills Lutheran NW. 15:20.
What it took to be All-State: 16:15.
Doug Grishkevich led area qualifiers with his 153rd-place finish for New Haven in 17:41. Almont’s Colton Grzyb finished 174th in 17:58.
Winner: Samantha Schroeder, Jackson Lumen Christie. 17:50.
What it took to be All-State: 19:20.
New Haven’s Emma Reimer dropped a total of two minutes from her season opener to regionals, and she continued that trajectory Saturday, running another personal best by 35 seconds (19:10) to take 19th at the state finals and earn a climb up the podium for a D3 medal.
Almont’s Taylor Stanczak also raced to a new personal best, hitting her first sub-20-minute 5K in 19:59 to take 60th place. Kadence Ager (Algonac) was 169th in 21:36.
Winner: Lincoln Laansma, Tri-Unity Christian. 15:50.
What it took to be All-State: 16:58.
Cardinal Mooney qualified out their region as a team and finished 19th out of 28 teams.
Liam Knuth ran a 17:10 to take 39th, only nine spots from the podium. The rest of the Cardinal team finished as follows:
Micah Arlow: 18:11, 106th.
Dominic DeVeny: 19:02, 150th.
Xavier Zammit: 19:22 PR, 170th.
Liam Guyor: 21:03, 231st.
Austin Catholic’s Gavin Bowers was an individual qualifier, finishing 53rd with a time of 17:25. Dryden's Levi Fitchett was 97th in 18:00. Memphis’ Tucker Gascoyne was 146th in 18:53.
Winner: Libby Smith, Gobles. 18:18.
What it took to be All-State: 20:14.
Cassidy Bowers repeated her All-State finish for a second year, placing 18th in 19:59 to bring another medal back to Austin Catholic.
Paige Arlow was another qualifier at the D4 state finals for Cardinal Mooney, running her personal best in 21:29 to take 80th. Dryden's Claire Wright and Ella Gustner were 43rd (20:46) and 93rd (21:47).
Any athletes interested in competing at the MITCA Meet of Champions on November 14 can register for participation on their website. It's a great day filled with last-chance PRs and a great racing atmosphere. If you're hoping to be part of the ELITE division, you MUST register by noon on Nov. 9. All other regular registrations are due by noon on Nov. 13. Don't wait!
Congratulations to everyone on a fantastic season!
