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PETOSKEY – November 4, 2025 – St. Michael High School (SMHS), the only Classical high school in Northern Michigan, announced today that both of its Cross Country (XC) teams outperformed expectations at Saturday’s Division-4 State Finals at Michigan International Speedway. The Guardian Gentlemen placed fourth in the State while the Ladies team finished tenth.
“I’m so proud of our teams,” gushed Guardians Head Coach Larry Rudnicki. “While I never gave up on them – far from it, in fact – it was difficult to see an outcome anything like this back in August. But around Labor Day, Cody and the guys ‘got serious’ and the ladies followed soon after. The program ramp-up from then never relented, right through Saturday’s incredible finish!”
As at the Regional, the Portage Invitational, and other successful October outings, it was with a well-executed, patient, persistent race plan that the Guardians delivered.
At the mile, St. Michael was in tenth with 340 points. Every Guardian scorer subsequently advanced, lifting the team to sixth place with 253 points at two miles. Then in the final mile-plus, they nabbed 51 more spots, seizing fourth place with 202 points, just three points ahead of fifth-place Royal Oak Shrine. Freshman fifth-man Cooper Feagan made the difference, passing five rivals in the final 175 meters. The Gents entered the race ranked sixth in Division-4.
After two years as runner-up, second-ranked Holland Calvary won its first-ever State Championship, pulling an upset over top-ranked Maple City Glen Lake, 110 to 131. Third-ranked Hillsdale Academy, State Champs the last two years, was third with 158 points. (Lower is better in XC scoring.)
ndividually, Cody Bradley led the team at 15th place in 16:27, earning All-State honors for the third straight year. He was followed by fellow All-Stater Caleb Chamberlin (of Harbor Light Christian) at 28th place in 16:49, and Atticus Cadarette at 36th place in 16:58. The trio closed with season-best performances.
Coach Rudnicki continued, “Caleb and Atticus made spectacular progress in recent weeks, exemplified by their mid-race and closing surges on Saturday. I was screaming at them at 800 meters as they were a bit ‘too patient’ for my liking! They each passed about 100 runners over the ensuing 4200 meters.”
They were followed by fellow sophomore Cole Wesley at 97th in 17:45. Cooper Feagan was 139th at 18:21 to complete the St. Michael scoring. Wesley and Feagan were also the team’s 4th and 5th scorers a year ago, but this year finished 97 and 98 seconds faster, respectively, dropping their combined score by 134 points. In team scoring, St. Michael tallied 13-19-25-60-85, totaling 202 points. Elijah Pulver and Phillip Anderson also competed for the Guardians.
“Phillip’s inclusion in our State line-up might be the biggest of our many upside surprises this season. There was no indication of this being possible when he first joined us, but he diligently ‘chopped minutes’ each week. I’m not used to having a ‘deep bench’ at our humble school, but we may have one next year.”
The day began with the Guardian ladies also pursuing ‘stretch objectives’ with ‘patience & persistence.’
“After our Regional win, I challenged the ladies to crack the ‘top ten’ at State. I didn’t see us getting higher than ninth or tenth as the competition seemed mighty stiff above that, but I thought we might sneak past a few teams ranked ahead of us, and we did. The ladies crushed it!”
At the mile, the Guardians were in 14th with 373 points. In the second mile, St. Michael whittled their score down to 327 points, moving up to 12th place. Then in the final mile-plus, they clipped 24 more points, landing in tenth place with 303, just a single point back of ninth-place Martin. Senior Ella Nolan picked off twelve rival runners in the last mile, helping lift St. Michael into the top ten, ten points ahead of 11th-place Kingston. The Guardian ladies entered the race ranked 13th in Division-4. In three prior outings at the State Finals from 2021 to 2023, the team had never finished better than 24th.
As expected, Whitmore Lake claimed the State Championship for the third consecutive season with 140 points. Fourth-ranked Hillsdale Academy was runner-up with 158.
Individually, Veronica Paga led the way at 35th in 20:33, followed by Mea Wesley at 52nd in 21:01.
Coach Rudnicki added, “Veronica’s reliability, both at practice and in races, coupled with Mea’s massive mid-season improvement, catalyzed our development into a serious team.”
They were followed by Sofia Cadarette at 86th in a best-ever 21:41 with Ella Nolan close behind at 92nd in 21:47. Helena Ramsey completed the scoring at 181st in 23:54. Nora Weed also competed for the Guardians. As a team, the ladies went 25-35-60-63-120 for their 303 points.
Full results of the Division-4 Girls State Finals are available HERE.
Full results of the Division-4 Boys State Finals are available HERE.
Coach Rudnicki concluded, “As always, I’m grateful to our parents for their encouragement and support this season, as well as to Assistant Coaches Nick Pulver, Matt Wertman, and Kevin Weed for their camaraderie and help. I’d also like to thank our generous program benefactors, without whom we wouldn’t have a program at all.”
“Thanks be to God for another challenging, rewarding season, filled with unexpected joys and consolations, as we learn to ‘carry our crosses,’ training to persevere through the inevitable struggles of the Christian life.”
St. Michael High School is High School with a Higher Purpose and a proud member of the Chesterton Schools Network. Established in 2013, the St. Michael mission is to nurture and elevate a new generation of joyful leaders educated in the Classical tradition and truth of the Catholic faith. For more information, please visit the SMHS website at stmichaelchesterton.org.