Huron girls win regional title
In dominating fashion, the Rogers City girls cross country team ran by the competition on the way to its second consecutive regional trophy Saturday in Gaylord. That sets the stage for the team to take a run at the state Division 4 title Saturday at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The top three schools from nine regionals each qualified for the finals which begin at 10 a.m. Saturday for the Division 4 boys and 11 a.m. for the Division 4 girls. ?I?m proud of the way we ran today, the entire team,? said coach Rob Kortman after the meet. ?I think we have a great chance to do really well at the state finals Saturday.? Freshman Kaylee Kreft (20:15.1) led the way, finishing first at the regional run, 15 seconds better than her sister Lacey (20:30.6). After the two Kreft sisters came about the length of two fairways at the Gaylord Country Club, before the third place finisher Kari Johnson, of Central Lake, came in at 22:02.8.
KAYLEE AND her teammates started at the far left side of the starting grid, and by the time the runners made the first 300 yards, she had the lead for good. Although a heavy dew made the course wet, footing was not an issue. A hilly course layout did slow times as runners climbed two large hills and several smaller ones set around the golf course. Sunny skies appeared after an early fog lifted as the temperature was around 45 degrees as the girls race began. Lacey, a senior, and the defending regional champion, worked her way through traffic to claim the second position shortly after rounding the first corner on the Gaylord Country Club course. Her effort qualifies her for the state meet for the fourth time. She was part of the 2002 team which finished fifth in the state, best ever for a Huron girls cross country team.
The one-two finish by Kaylee and Lacey headed an outstanding day by all the Huron runners. Sophomore Sarah Bruning came in fifth at 22:47.1 and Chelsea Kreft took 11th with a time of 23.14.8. Sara Belusar (24:58.6) placed 20th to account for the Hurons? score of 32. The top five finishers count for team points. Cynthia Belusar took 22nd (25:09.8) and Janna Schaedig finished a place behind at 23rd (25:25.0). Coach Kortman has an experienced squad heading to Brooklyn, which should make for a good finish. In addition to Lacey Kreft qualifying for the meet for the fourth time, her sister Chelsea returns for her third run at the state and Bruning and the Belusar sisters make their second appearance at the finals. Ellsworth took second at 56, and Fairview was third at 65, to qualify for the state meet. Bellaire was fourth at 79, followed by Gaylord St. Mary (142), Boyne Falls (148) and Inland Lakes 180. Not enough runners from Central Lake, Alba, Mackinaw City, Mio, Wolverine, and Hale competed to qualify for team points. Kortman praised the team for running together and finishing well. ?On the girls? side it was a great day to take a first for the sec
IN THE boys race, Derek McLennan finished fourth (18:19) to lead the Huron boys team to a fifth place finish. The senior qualified for the state meet and earned all-region honors with his run. His brother Zak, a freshman, placed 17th (19:36) while junior Mike Mierzwinski (19:47) took 19th. Other finishers were Tharin Wilk, 33rd (20:35), Brian Krueger 34th (20:36), Andy Tulgestke, 45th (21:18) and Travis Lafferty 59th (22.52).
?I?m very pleased with the way we ran today. We definitely improved from last year. We are a very young team and I can see us improved for next year,? Kortman said. ? Derek McLennan was the only boy to get out of the regional this year with Zak McLennan just missing. I?m very proud of all of the boys this year.? Derek McLennan placed 15th at the regional last year and 36th at the state finals.