With one last official MHSAA event of the season, local athletes who qualified for the state meet capped off their 2024 cross country campaigns at MIS in Brooklyn. All-State honors were earned by Blue Water Area runners across several divisions.
D1 Boys
Individual champion: Seth Conner, Jennison. 14:54.
Team champions: Northville.
Utica’s Harper Wesley and Luke Morehouse both earned All-State honors, with Wesley taking 15th in 15:37 and Morehouse taking 28th in 15:44. The team finished 15th, their second-best finish in program history. Wesley is the first Utica cross country athlete to earn All-State honors twice, and this was the first time two Utica runners were All-State at the same time. Greg Vogt of Anchor Bay wrapped up his cross country career for the Tars, placing 146th in 16:39.
D1 Girls
Individual champion: Victoria Garces, Midland Dow. 16:37.
Team champions: Romeo.
Winning by almost 100 points, Romeo crushed the team competition, making their state team titles back-to-back. With a team spread of 27 seconds, the Bulldogs were able to place six of their seven varsity runners in the top 30 spots.
6. Natalia Guaresimo 17:40.8
11. Annie Hrabovsky 17:46.8
17. Lillian Deskins 17:57.4
20. Violet Hrabovsky 18:03.9
22. Olivia Purdy 18:08.4
30. Emmerson Clor 18:21.1
38. Ella Goodsell 18:38.5
Samantha Langolf of Port Huron Northern had a breakthrough race at MIS, running a PR by close to 45 seconds to place 88th. Her teammate Haley Sharp was 164th in 19:58. Langolf is now tied for 5th-fastest in school history, with Sharp at 12th for the Huskies.
D2 Boys
Individual champion: T.J. Hansen, Freeland. 14:50.
Team champions: Forest Hills Eastern.
Despite a delayed race start for T.J. Hansen of Freeland to find his uniform shorts, the returning state champion made it back-to-back victories, winning in 14:50. Macomb Lutheran North took 22nd place as a team, led by Joshua Macri (75th; 16:30) and Xavier Roman (96th; 16:39). Only nine seconds separated the two Mustang teammates, yet in that short period, twenty-one runners finished: that paints a picture of the steady stream of athletes at the finish line. Yale was 26th: Wyatt Murtos ran 16:57 to lead the Bulldogs in 131st, and St. Clair was 27th as a team, with Ethan Kreger placing 150th in 17:13. Connor Pepin was the top individual finisher from the Blue Water Area not running with a team, placing 147th in 17:12.
Other area finishers not mentioned above:
159. Nolan Korolden 17:18.6 Yale
167. Samuel Kochensparger 17:23.7 Macomb Lutheran North
171. Korbyn Thornton 17:26.1 St. Clair
181. Teddy Rutkofske 17:32.6 Yale
186. Mason Pietrykowski 17:35 Richmond
188. Brady VanConant 17:36.0 Yale
195. Kale Kovach 17:43.3 Yale
199. Nino Biondo 17:47.3 Macomb Lutheran North
201. Brayden Prieskorn 17:50.6 St. Clair
208. Robert Carrigan 17:55.1 Armada
211. Jack McMahon 17:57.8 Macomb Lutheran North
214. Logan Rhodes 18:01.0 Yale
225. Sawyer Rosberg 18:06 Richmond
227. Brendan Koza 18:21.0 Marysville
228. Elliot Alef 18:21.1 Macomb Lutheran North
233. Leo Bearss 18:22.7 Yale
239. Oliver Alef 18:35.7 Macomb Lutheran North
244. Luke McDonell 18:45.1 St. Clair
245. Gavin Bishop 18:47.7 St. Clair
250. Griffin Kreger 18:56.2 St. Clair
D2 Girls
Individual champion: Ava Schafer, St. Johns. 17:20.
Team champions: Goodrich.
Known for her steady consistency throughout her four years of high school running, Cros-Lex’s Eva Thompson added to her resume one of the few accolades she didn’t yet have: All-State honors. With a top-ten finish in one of the highest placements by a Blue Water Area female runner, Thompson capped off her accomplished career with a seventh-place medal in her PR of 18:19, which also broke her school record (18:29). After the race, coach Lisa Shaw was full of joy. “I’m just so excited for her,” Shaw stated. “No one deserves it more”. Thompson also holds Cros-Lex records in the 1600, 3200, and 4x800 meter relays.
Thompson’s high finish helped Cros-Lex place ahead of the two teams that had qualified in front of them at regionals: the Pioneers finished 26th, while Macomb Lutheran North was 27th (led by Samantha Whitlam in 71st; 19:38) and St. Clair in 28th: Ella Thornton was the first Saint to cross the line in 162nd place with a time of 20:50. The highest finish from a Blue Water Area female competing individually (not qualifying with a team) was Brooklyn Khon of Armada, who placed 116th in 20:16.
Other area finishers not mentioned above:
120. Brynn Hurley 20:21 Croswell-Lexington
127. Saige Cole 20:25 Yale
166. Allie Komarowski 20:54.4 St. Clair
173. Lucy Gump 21:00.1 Macomb Lutheran North
185. Abigail Denoyer 21:06.5 Armada
188. Chloe Boright 21:09.1 Macomb Lutheran North
196. Lillian Rutallie 21:23.7 Marysville
200. Molly McNabb 21:30.9 St. Clair
205. Madelyn Barkley 21:37.4 Croswell-Lexington
206. Eden Brewer 21:39.2 St. Clair
207. Lillian Bender 21:39.7 Yale
210. Avery Stallmann 21:44.8 Macomb Lutheran North
213. Gabriella Komarowski 21:49.0 St. Clair
214. Hailey Morrison 21:49.1 Croswell-Lexington
216. Isabella LaPerriere 21:51.1 Macomb Lutheran North
235. Katya Anderson 22:31.7 Macomb Lutheran North
236. Abbey Morabito 22:33.0 St. Clair
246. Rachel McDonell 22:59.3 St. Clair
251. Penelope Persig 23:33.6 Croswell-Lexington
257. Evelyn Buckley 23:40.1 Macomb Lutheran North
259. Jaylynn Maduri 23:55.1 Croswell-Lexington
261. Eliza Thompson 25:26.6 Croswell-Lexington
D3 Boys
Individual champion: Mitchell Hiatt, Onsted. 15:15.
Team champions: Traverse City St. Francis.
Julian Walker and Owen Beindit of Algonac both competed individually in the Division 3 boys’ race. Walker was 50th in his PR of 16:37, while Beindit also ran his personal best to finish 91st in 16:58, his first sub-17 race.
D3 Girls
Individual champion: Kyah Hoffman, Stanton Central Montcalm. 17:31.
Team champions: Lansing Catholic
Kate Bennett and Jasmine Walker also represented the Algonac Muskrats at MIS, taking 230th in 23:14 and 201st in 22:20, respectively.
Almont’s team qualified at regionals and finished 26th overall. Their finishers are listed below:
100. Laila Evola 20:48.5
109. Taylor Stanczak 20:54.8
205. Greta Schwarberg 22:22.9
237. Melina Campbell 23:37.5
240. Charlotte Verougstraete 23:56.9
248. Amanda Fitchett 24:39.4
252. Carlie Johnson 25:18.5
D4 Boys
Individual champion: Marek Butkiewicz, Kalamazoo Hackett. 15:09.
Team champions: Hillsdale Academy.
Nico DiPonio of Austin Catholic was the top Blue Water Area finisher in the D4 race, running a personal best of 17:10 by close to half a minute. Jacob Campbell of New Life Christian was 134th in 18:22. The Dryden boys’ team was 12th out of 27 teams: their runners are listed below.
71. Logan Romain 17:32.4
105. Levi Fitchett 17:58.6
17. Sean Finnigan 18:08.2
119. Noah Hall 18:11.6
149. Jaycen Roberts 18:32.8
156. Nick Abromaitis 18:36.2
171. Dylan Lasher 18:49.0
D4 Girls
Individual champion: Kaylie Livingston, Whitmore Lake. 18:06.
Team champions: Whitmore Lake.
Cara Prusakiewicz of Dryden earned her first All-State honors, finishing 23rd in 19:50. Her teammate Claire Wright was 109th in 21:51. Cassidy Bowers of Austin Catholic, just a freshman, was 38th in 20:27. Stella Behnan of Cardinal Mooney Catholic ran her PR of 20:37 to place 48th. Julia Rogers ran a 21:36 to place 100th for Kimball New Life Christian.
Photos courtesy of Instagram.
Interested in continuing your season with one last cross country event? Register for the MITCA Meet of Champions by MONDAY, NOV. 4 at noon. https://runsignup.com/Race/MI/Shepherd/TeamMichigan
Thank you so much for sharing your season with Blue Water Running. It has been an honor and a privilege to watch runners of all ages, abilities, and divisions compete. Congratulations to everyone for your dedication, passion, and effort.
Cross country coverage on Blue Water Running is sponsored in part by Elite Feet of Port Huron. If you need running shoes, spikes, or apparel, they have a friendly and knowledgeable staff to help you find the right fit (and they are big fans of running, too). They are located at 327 Huron Ave in downtown Port Huron. If you are interested in sponsoring coverage or partnering with Blue Water Running as an advertiser to reach and support local runners, please reach out via our website or social media channels.