By Barbara Read / For WLD
At last weekend’s Jackson Invitational at Ella Sharp Park, the mosquitoes and coyotes were a no-show, but the heat and humidity greeted runners at the starting line in the highly competitive 29-team field.
“Yes, temperatures were wild, but the performances were better,” said Dexter Coach Drew Collette. “We had 16 personal best times, and 11 additional season-best times. That’s impressive! Even better news, we are right back at the same course on Tuesday in what should be much better conditions.”
Personal records (PRs) continued to roll in from both the JV and varsity teams, but at a slower pace.
“Once the weather cools off, the boys are going to fly,” said Collette said.
Dexter crossed the finish line in third place with 134 points. Romeo finished first with 107 points followed by Clarkston with 118. Skyline was fourth with 153 followed by Olentangy Liberty (171), Hartland (189) and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (200).
Owen Huard led the Dreadnaughts with an impressive third-place finish – and just a half step from second place. The senior crossed the finish line in 15:26.8. East Grand Rapids’ Evan Bishop took first overall in 15:17.1 followed by Brendan Favazza (15:25.2). Dexter senior Nathan Larson gave the Dreads two runners in the top 10. The senior placed seventh overall in 15:51.6.
Dexter senior Seth Read ran 16:27.1 to place 20th overall. Conor Kolka was 45th (17:01.2); William Buller was 61st (17:15.9); and senior Finnegan Bell was 102nd (17:46.2).
Saturday’s race featured PRs from Read (16:27, -21) and Kolka (17:01, -38) and season bests from Larson (15:51) and Buller (17:15).
The varsity is still down one man from earlier in the season. Read continued his streak of a new PR every race this year.
The JV runners demonstrated the depth of the team overall with an impressive 14 PRs at Jackson Friday night, and nine new season best times. Standout PRs from the JV runners include David Dornoff (-59), Mason Grann (-34), Masanari Kimura (-50), Victor Lee (-39), Kyle Sutton (-39), and Rylan Teddy (-28) who dropped a half minute or more, and Emerson Nguyen who improved by over 5 minutes!
Top season improvements go to Wilson Kasischke (-53), Chase Lutz (-53), Andrew Petik (-49), and Luke Petrinko (-29).
“Our racing schedule has kept us all pretty much on our toes and at a high intensity level for the past few weeks,” Collette said. “This week, we have two races, but they are much more low-key. We will be treating these two races as workouts, aiming to start the races off slower, stick in packs, and then hammer the last mile.
“We get a great opportunity to practice in real races here the next seven days, and my hope is that you physically and mentally get a break while also gaining valuable experience for the big races coming up in October.”
The teams head to Jackson again Tuesday for SEC Jamboree #2. The lineup includes, Adrian, Chelsea, Dexter, Jackson, Lincoln, Pinckney, Tecumseh, and Ypsilanti. The boys will all race together at 5:10 p.m. at Ella Sharp Park following the girls who run at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Personal Records (PRs)
Owen Ackerman, 21:07 (-17)
David Dornoff, 26:12 (-59)
Drew Gchanour, 20:54 (-3)
Mason Grann, 23:31 (-34)
Adam Hauser, 18:02 (-12)
Quentin Hurdle, 26:28 (-1)
Kaden Jensen, 22:22 (-16)
Masanari Kimura, 17:40 (-50)
Conor Kolka, 17:01 (-38)
Victor Li, 26:57 (-39)
Emerson Nguyen, 24:41 (-5:28)
Will O’Haver, 20:41 (-7)
Seth Read, 16:27 (-21)
Zach Sawin, 18:38 (-20)
Kyle Sutton, 23:17 (-39)
Rylan Teddy, 20:36 (-28)
Season Records (SRs)
Johathan Adamczyk, 19:06 (-11)
Nathan Biggs, 20:50 (-3)
Liam Buller, 17:15 (-13)
Evan Bursch, 23:27 (-5)
John Harm, 18:29 (-21)
Holden Hughes, 21:24 (-12)
Wilson Kasischke, 18:46 (-53)
Nathan Larson, 15:51 (-13)
Chase Lutz, 21:25 (-53)
Andrew Petik, 23:33 (-49)
Luke Petrinko, 23:25 (-29)
