Mid-Michigan shows well at MHSAA cross-country finals
Prep cross country in mid-Michigan is thriving.
Over the weekend numerous teams and individuals from the mid-Michigan area competed in the MHSAA cross country state finals from Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
Locally, a couple teams from Gratiot County led the way as Alma, Ithaca and Breckenridge all had top-five finishes in their respective divisions.
In Division 2 the Alma boys cross country team had a day Saturday as the Panthers finished in fifth-place in team standings, crossing the tape with 251 points. Allendale won the D2 team title with 78 points.
Two Alma runners earned All-State honors via top-30 finishes in the race. Junior Thomas Larson finished 14th in the race with a new school-record time of 15:28.9. Sophomore Ezekiel Baltierra also earned All-State honors as he was 30th in 15:48.8.
Shepherd also landed 14th in the D2 team standings and were led by Nolan Longuski who was 61st in 16:22.6.
The Ithaca boys team also closed the season with a stellar showing as the Jackets finished third in the D3 team standings with 180 points. Traverse City St. Francis won the D3 team state championship with 86 points while Saugatuck was second with 177.
Junior Landen Styka led Ithaca as he earned All-State honors by finishing sixth overall in 15:48.3. Senior Miingen Bertrand was also seventh in 15:49.0.
St. Louis finished 22nd in the team standings while Clare was 26th.
St. Louis senior Landon Pestrue earned All-State honors as he finished 19th in 15:59.
In Division 4 boys action the Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart team finished 13th with 387 points while Beal City was 27th with 698 points. SHA sophomore Wesley Chaffee earned D4 All-State honors as he was 26th in 16:39.6 while junior Jonah Pollatz just missed All-State honors as he was 32nd in 16:50.5.
On the girls side the Ithaca girls landed fifth in the D3 state finale with 226 points. Lansing Catholic won the D3 team title with 136 points. Clare was 14th with 384.
Ithaca freshman Khloe Lehnst was All-State as she finished 28th in 19:07.9. Chippewa Hills freshman Dory Simon just missed All-State honors as she finished 31st with a time of 19:20.7.
In Division 4 action the Breckenridge girls finished in fifth-place with 202 points. Whitemore Lake won the D4 team title with 110 points.
Junior Ally Schmitz paced Breckenridge as she was 14th in 19:38.3 while senior Danica Aldrich was 17th in 19:40.8. Both were All-State in D4.
Vestaburg also finished 14th in the team standings while Beal City was 23rd.
Vestaburg senior Abigail Davis was fourth in the D4 race with a time of 18:26.4.
