CROSS COUNTRY: Oxford, Stevenson claim regional titles
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BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
NEW BALTIMORE — Matt Johnson had a challenge for his boys cross country team one year ago.
“I asked them, ‘How bad did they want to run at the state meet this year?” recalled Johnson, Oxford’s second-year cross country coach.
The Wildcats surprised the field Saturday morning at the Division 1 regional at New Baltimore Anchor Bay. Oxford landed five runners in the top 30 and captured its first regional title since the 1980s and first as a Division 1 school by scoring 90 points to top the 17-school field.
“Last week at the league meet was the first time all year that I let them run the race they wanted to. Before that, I had them sit back in the first mile,” said Johnson. “I knew if we could run a good race that we would have a great chance of qualifying. They wanted more. They said 11 months ago at the team banquet that they wanted to come here and dominate and they were able to win the regional this year.”
Unranked Oxford edged 10th-ranked Romeoby the narrowest of margins, 90-91, for the team title, while Lake Orion took the third and final qualifying spot by running third with 96 points despite missing two of its top five runners.
The top three teams plus the top 15 individuals advance to the state finals Nov. 2 at Michigan Speedway near Brooklyn.
Ninth-ranked Port Huron Northern (119) and Rochester (135) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, as only 45 points separated the top five teams.
Lake Orion had three of its top runners miss the regional meet last season, which cost the Dragons a state berth. This time around Orion’s depth chart came through in the clutch.
“Last year it was rough and I knew we didn’t have Zac Zielkop and David Diaz this year, but we also had a lot of depth this year,” said Lake Orion coach Stan Ford. “We had five runners in the top 40 and that helped. We had enough depth, kids that stepped up.”
Sterling Heights Stevenson’s girls switched regionals this season and the Titans stole the show this year. Stevenson emerged from a cluster of five teams vying for qualifying spots, scoring 98 points to advance to the state finals for the 30th time in 32 seasons. Lake Orion (101) and Utica Eisenhower (108) also qualified, while Oxford (115) and injury-plagued Rochester (147) missed the cut. Only 49 points separated the top five girls teams.
“Last year we had a good day at the (Metro Beach) regional and then we were ranked 10th in the state after that. At the state finals we were able to finish sixth overall,” noted Stevenson coach Kevin Hanson. “This year we are hoping for the same thing, with us keep getting better and peaking at the right time.
We knew that there were five good teams and that we had to run well today in order to qualify,” continued Hanson. “I thought, considering the weather, we competed very well and had a great day.”
All runners faced the horrific conditions of a biting, cold wind and even some occasional snow flurries.
Stevenson had five runners in the top 40 to prevail, the same as Lake Orion and Eisenhower. Stevenson had two runners in the top 10, led by Samantha Hanson (sixth) and Allison Shannon (seventh). Miranda Wolanin (19th), Ashlie Baumann (28th) and Jenna Anderson (38th) aided the Titans cause.
Lake Orion qualified for only the third time in 11 seasons. The Dragons have finished fourth at the regional competition eight times in the past 15 years, but not this time around.
“I think one of the reasons is we stayed healthy this year,” offered Lake Orion coach Deb McDonald. “I think we competed very hard and we ran great as a team. We knew it was going to be really close and I think the girls did not want to finish fourth again.”
Rochester’s Jessica Goethals won her first individual regional title, surging past Rochester Stoney Creek’s Nicole Kowalchick during the final 300 meters. Goethals finished in 19:21, while Kowalchick ran second in 19:23.
“I knew I had to finish hard, just in case we needed the point in the end,” said Goethals. “We didn’t have a great day as a team, but I didn’t know that at the time. I just wanted to run as hard as I could at the end.
Macomb Dakota’s Marah Pugh, a national-ranked swimmer running in only her third cross country race this season, finished third in 19:36, while Port Huron’s Rachel Bonner was fourth (19:38) and Lake Orion’s Madz Ham ran fifth (19:45).
In the boys meet, Jacob Schenten (eighth), Gabe Hogan (ninth), Joey Ufolla (22nd), Logan Bruni (25th) and Bradley Vandecar (26th) led Oxford to the team title.
Romeo’s Alec Torecki won in convincing fashion with the day’s fastest time, 16:29 in the blustery conditions. Teammate Jacob Domagalski was second (16:41), while Port Huron Northern’s Matt Thomas claimed third (16:42) and Rochester’s duo of Kyle Repetto (16:47) and James Schuler (16:50) followed closely behind in the top five.
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FOR MORE CROSS COUNTRY COVERAGE: http://northoaklandsports.com/?s=Cross+country&x=11&y=10
Have photos or video of this event that you wish to share? E-mail pertinent information to www.northoaklandsports.com Senior Editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com or e-mail results@northoaklandsports.com.
Category: Clarkston, Cross Country, Featured Articles, High School, High School (M-Z), Lake Orion, Oxford, Prep Wraps, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Rochester Stoney Creek, Sport, Top Stories, Uncategorized
