The 2024 cross country season witnessed an array of personal bests and improved times among Leelanau County’s runners. Twelve outstanding athletes (six boys, six girls) helped lead their respected teams all season long.
The selection of the Enterprise Dream Team was a collaborative effort by cross country coaches Ann Knudsen (Leland), Nick Papes (St. Mary), George Drown (Glen Lake), and sports editor Brian Freiberger.
Co-MVP: Ella Knudsen (Leland)
Leland senior Ella Knudsen wrapped up her tremendous high school career with a 26thplace finish at the state championship Saturday.
“It felt really great right before the race having all of the girls in the area in the same box. We were all able to stop for a second and pray together. It brought us peace and readiness,” Knudsen said.
Knudsen claims her third Dream Team MVP honors after another impressive season. She has been on the team all four years and advanced to the state championship each season.
Knudsen will go down in the record books as the best girls runner in school history.
“I have never been more proud as a mother over the last four years of watching her race,” Leland coach and mother Ann Knudsen said. “She has been an inspiration to me as well as to her teammates and other individual runners.”
Over the past four years, Knudsen has loved nothing more than to see the program grow.
“I have loved seeing our program grown, seeing how much energy we have for the program … (My advice for underclassmen) have fun and enjoy every single moment,” Ella said.
Co-MVP: Carmella Julian (Glen Lake)
Glen Lake freshman phenom Carmella Julian stood tall all season as she earned co-MVP honors along with Leland senior Ella Knudsen.
Julian finished the season strong, leading the pack of Leelanau runners at both regionals and states (3rd, 20th).
“(The state meet) was really memorable. It was a big goal of mine all season to just make it there in general. I didn’t really care if I would have placed last, just being there was a really sentimental moment for me,” Julian said. “It’s really just exciting and I’m excited to put more work into cross country, and I’m getting pumped for next year. I’m hoping to go back and do it again.”
Julian had eight top-5 finishes throughout the season and will be a top competitor for hopefully years to come.
Her favorite moments were being with the team.
“We haven’t had a big team in the past and this year it was really amazing that we had some girls come out,” Julian said.
Coach George Drown is excited to see what the future holds for Julian.
“(Julian) has the same love for the sport as I do. You don’t always see that,” Drown said.
Emily Alaimo (Glen Lake)
Glen Lake senior Emily Alaimo has come a long way running for the Lakers over the past two years. In 2023, Alaimo was the only girl on the team, before receiving help this year with talented underclassmen.
“I’m going to take a lot of leadership from it all. How to lead a team and how to mentally be more strong. I also learned that once you’re the only one out there it’s you against you,” Alaimo said.
Her advice to the girls that will continue building Glen Lake cross country is to always keep working.
“My advice to them is no matter if it’s a bad day or a good day, it’s all going to work out,” Alaimo said. “If you keep a straight head and don’t let bad thoughts get into your mind, you’re going to be perfectly fine. No matter if you hit a speed bump along the way, there’s always going to be something that comes up, but you have to overcome it.”
Coach Drown admits that Alaimo is relentless and has overcome injuries along the way while doing everything she needed for herself and the team.
“Without her and her leadership, we would be dead in the water,” Drown said.
Natalie Burpee (Leland)
Leland sophomore Natalie Burpee made her way onto the Dream Team thanks to her grit and willingness to compete.
“It will be fun to continue to coach them and have them as part of the team with the success that they did have this season,” Burpee said.
Burpee finished 16th overall at regionals, narrowly missing out on a state finals appearance. Burpee had two top-10 finishes throughout the season and will be counted on in the future for the Comets.
Sophie Grinage (Leland)
Leland freshman Sophie Grinage made her presence known on the trail as she ran her way to a seventh regional finish to clinch her ticket to states.
Grinage finished 51st overall during the championship race and will be an athlete to watch in the future.
“It was super exciting and nerve-racking because I haven’t run with as many people before,” Grinage said. “I learned that progress is progress no matter how fast or slow, it’s progress.”
The hard work has been paying off for the freshman that has a bright future ahead. Grinage achieved five top-10 finishes throughout the season with a personal record time of 20:16.
“My ultimate goal for both (Grinage and Burpee) is to continue loving running … That running continues to be a passion of theirs and something that they just love to do and I hope that it becomes a part of who they are,” Leland coach Ann Knudsen said.
Claire Couturier (St. Mary)
Lake Leelanau St. Mary freshman Claire Couturier stamped her place on the Dream Team for leading the Eagles this fall.
The freshman qualified for her second state championship appearance after qualifying as an eighth grader last year. She claimed the last spot in 15th place (21:18, personal record).
“(Couturier) will be the pillar for which we try to rebuild upon going into the future. It’s a pretty strong pillar I would say with all her experience and potential going into the future,” St. Mary coach Nick Papes said. “ It was a banner year and one excellent week for the Couturier family.”
Couturier had four top-10 finishes to cap off her freshman campaign.
Elaina Ottenbacher (Glen Lake)
Glen Lake freshman Elaina Ottenbacher earned Dream Team honorable mention recognition after she stormed onto the scene after missing the first couple of races. Otenbacher finished 18th at regionals when she was projected in the high-20 and low-30s.
MVP: Colebrook Sutherland (Glen Lake)
Glen Lake senior Colebrook Sutherland took home the boys Dream Team MVP for the second straight year.
The multi-sport athlete with tennis, Sutherland claimed his second All-State honor in cross country during the busy fall season. Sutherland finished sixth overall at the Div. 4 state finals with a time of 16:03.
“Getting All-State wasn’t gonna be a big issue. I wanted to do better than I did last year because it’s way more competitive this year,” Sutherland said.
The senior had five first place finishes and had his fastest time at regionals with a second place finishing time of 15:52.
“(Colebrooks’s) teammates benefit from seeing all that hard work and dedication he puts into each sport … Even though he was playing a lot of tennis, Sutherland made a conscious effort otg et to know the team better,” Glen Lake coach George Drown said.
Sutherland will take with him from the sport to always be disciplined.
“There’s a lot of self discipline in cross country and staying in shape,” Sutherland said.
Abraham Feeney (Glen Lake)
Glen Lake sophomore Abrahma Feeney was another dual sport athlete that made a difference for the Lakers all season long on the cross country course.
Feeney split time with soccer and will be counted on in the future for continued success as he matures.
Feeney has been impressive all season with five top-3 finishes including a fifth place finish at regionals (16:29). Feeney earned all-state honors with an 18th place finish at the state championships.
“(Feeney) cares about the sport, he works out on his own and the team’s ability to work together is a big thing,” Drown said.
Liam McCaw (Glen Lake)
Glen Lake junior Liam McCaw grew into his role this season and provided pivotal times for the team’s success.
“(McCaw) put himself up there with the leaders … He’s come a long way and has reduced his time from the mid-18 and 19 minutes to mid-17 minutes,” Drown said.
McCaw had five top-5 finishes on the season and punched his ticket to the state meet with an eighth place finishing time of 16:51 (personal record) at regionals. McCaw finished 33rd overall in the finals to cap off an impressive junior campaign.
Carter Suttmann (Leland)
Leland freshman Carter Suttmann found his way onto the Dream Team with impressive regional and state results.
“(Suttmann) has the mentality of a runner. He is a runner in his mind, he is a runner in his heart. Every time he goes out he gives his absolute best,” Leland coach Ann Knudsen said. “What makes him the unique runner that he is, he definitely understands that your mental abilities can outweigh your physical abilities. We always say that we don’t think (Suttmann) registers pain.”
Suttmann split his time with soccer and didn’t drop in conditioning at all throughout the season.
Suttmann had four top-10 finishes in 2024 and came away with a ninth place finish at regionals and a 72nd place finish at state.
Cody Couturier (St. Mary)
Lake Leelanau St. Mary junior Cody Couturier found himself on the Dream Team for his consistency.
The junior barely missed out at states with a 17th-place finish at regionals, despite running a personal record time of 17:34.
Couturier’s best finishes happened at St. Mary’s Hail Mary Run where he finished fourth, and at the El Rapids XC Invitational where he also finished fourth.
“We had seven all-state runners come out of our region. (Couturier) put up tremendous effort all season and he registered our fourth fastest time in school history,” Lake Leelanau St. Mary coach Nick Papes said.
Three years ago that would have been a top-seven finish in the region.
Christopher Knudsen (Leland)
Leland freshman Christopher Knudsen also had an impressive season that led to his spot on the dream team. Knudsen recovered from injuries in the middle of the season to climb back into contention for the Comets.
“(Christopher) is a quiet leader that the boys look to him as that stable force within that team as well and brings a level of calm and contentedness to the team … I look forward to all of those boys. It’s such a young team,” Leland coach Ann Knudsen said.
