Lansing Catholic chases third straight cross country title

Lansing Catholic's girls cross country team opens the 2026 season chasing a third consecutive Division 3 state championship.

The Cougars won back-to-back titles at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals, most recently on Nov. 1, 2025, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. They return their top six runners from that championship lineup, according to an MHSAA preview published Oct. 31, 2025. Now they want a third.

A three-peat would put Lansing Catholic alongside Whitmore Lake, Hart and Ann Arbor Pioneer as programs that have recently won at least three in a row, the Lansing State Journal reported Thursday, Sept. 10.

Grace Wonch and Josie Bishop are among the Cougars to watch. Both ranked among the top seven in Division 3 season-best times heading into the 2025 state finals, per the MHSAA. Bishop also finished 20th individually at that meet.

At the 2025 state finals, Jackson Lumen Christi's Samantha Schroeder won the D3 individual title in 18:07.00, with Leslie's Hailey Creisher finishing less than four seconds behind her.

Okemos' Smith among state's best in Division 1

Okemos junior Rachel Smith enters the 2026 season as one of Michigan's top distance runners. Smith finished second in the Division 1 individual race at the 2025 state finals, clocking 17:04.77 behind Ann Arbor Pioneer's Natasza Dudek, who broke the MIS course record by nearly 20 seconds, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Smith held the third-fastest time on the Division 1 season-best list heading into the 2025 finals. DyeStat's early-season 2026 rankings list her among the nation's top 100 individual girls runners, noting her runner-up finishes at both the state championships and the Michigan Meet of Champions.