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CROSS COUNTRY: Lake Orion, Stevenson run to regional crowns

Dan Stickradt | October 27, 2014 | Comments (0)

Rochester second in both races; Lake Orion girls fight for third

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.Stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

GOODELLS, Mich. — Kyle Repetto has battled numerous injuries during his high school career as a distance runner. On Saturday, the senior finally put it all together.

Repetto won his first big meet in grand fashion, pulling away from a pack of runners who have defeated hime many times during his career. The Rochester High standout clocked 15:49 at Goodells County Park and not only set a career-best effort by some 27 seconds, but finished as a Division 1 regional champion to head into the state finals with momentum.

“I have had some injuries. I missed part of the track season and fought through a (foot problem) last season,” said Reppetto. “I felt really good today. I felt strong and I was able to pull away. This was my best race so far.”

“He picked the right time to win his first race,” offered veteran Rochester coach Larry Adams. “He’s had a really good year, but this was the first time he (crossed the line first).”

Lake Orion captured its ninth regional crown in two decades, collecting 62 points. Rochester, running its full lineup for only the second time all season, was a surprises next positions. I think we second with 79 points and Port Huron Northern claimed third (110).

The top three teams and the top 15 individuals advance to the Lower Peninsula Division 1 state finals Nov. 1 at Michigan Speedway.

Andrew Lorant (fourth, 16:00), Jacob Arenz (sixth, 16:!4), Matt Arenz (11th, 16:27), Jack Everts (16th, 16:33) and Jacob Ernatt (25th) led Lake Orion, which has qualified in nine of the past 10 seasons.

“We knew Andrew (Lorant) would be up there. He has all season. And I thought our fifth runner would have to make a difference. I thought our No. 2 through No. 5 runners all stepped up. We had four in the top 20 and five in the top 25,” said Lake Orion boys coach Stan Ford. “Most of them are back next year, except for one senior in our top seven. They are starting to run better as a pack, which bodes well for us (at the state finals) and next year. We are still relatively a young team.”althy.”

Kyle Johsnon (10th), freshman Austin Remick (18th) and Dillon Smith (20th) all finished in the top 20 for Rochester, which qualified for the first time since 2008.

“We’re had a lot of injuries this season. We hadn’t run our varsity lineup this season until the league meet last week,” said Adams. “This was the first time that we were really completely healthy. I thought we might have a chance pif we could get everybody healthy.”

Defending regional champion Oxford was the first team left on the outside looking in, as the Wildcats finished fourth with 119 points. Rochester Adams placed fifth (124), while Romeo (139), Rochester Stoney Creek (157), Macomb Dakota (162), Utica (235) and Sterling Heights Stevenson (288) rounded out the top 10 in the boys teams standings in the `5-school field.

Stevenson, ranked fifth, emerged as the girls team champion in convincing fashion. The Titans won their 20th regional crown and qualified for the state finals for the 31st time in 33 seasons under coach Kevin Hanson.

“We have been blessed by a lot of quality runners over the years,” offered Hanson. “The first time we qualified was 1982 and we’ve had quite an impressive run over the years. This year’s group has worked hard to carry on that legacy.

“I think, realistically, our goal should be top five (at the state finals),” added Hanson. “I think that (Birmingham ) Seaholm and Traverse City Central are a notch above everyone else. But there’s a group of 5-6 teams, including us, that will be right there battling for those positions.”

Stevenson landed three runners in the top 10 at the regional and five in the top 25 to score only 55 points. Samantha Hanson (third, 18:43), Allison Shannon (fifth, 19:05), Ashlie Baumann (seventh, 19:33), Jenna Anderson (17th, 20:02) and Marisa Papadelis (23rd, 20:24) led the Titans to their second straight regional title.

Rochester was the runner-up on the girls side, as the sophomore-laden Falcons collected 109 points with Lake Orion making the cut with 110 points, the fourth time in seven seasons the Dragons have qualified. It marked Rochester’s first team qualifying berth since 2009. The Falcons were the state champions in 2007.

“It was nice to see the sophomores come through, as a couple of our other runners did not have a very good day, but they picked up the slack,” said Adams, whose program has finished fourth or fifth at the regional the past four seasons. “Our sophomores are really starting to come along.”

Lake Orion pulled off a school first with its third-place effort.

“This is the first time we have ever qualified two years in a row,” noted Lake Orion girls coach Debi McDonald. “It’ seems like every time we qualified, we just missed the year after that. I knew we would have a chance, as long as we all had a good day on the same day.”

Oxford finished fourth in the girls meet with 134 points, while Rochester Adams (134), Utica Eisenhower (164), Rochester Stoney Creek (219), Macomb Dakota (223), Uti ca (235) and Romeo (236) wrapped up the top 10.

Lauren Kalaiszewski (fourth, 19:00) and Madison Payne (14th, 19:43), led Rochester, which was paced by its top five finishers all being sophomores. Payne shaved nearly a minute off her previous best, as did classmate Jasneet Aulakh (18th).

Lake Orion was paced by Danielle Carr (10th) and Belina Gaskey (11th).

Port Huron’s Rachel Bonner ran away with the individual title, clocking 18:18. Romeo’s Emma Wilson was second (18:29).