Romeo ran away with the Division 1 MHSAA girls championship at the State Finals on Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway. The Bulldogs crossed the finish line at MIS with a winning score of just 61 points, well ahead of runner-up Saline with 143 points.
Holland West Ottawa was third with 144 points followed by Rochester (197) and Brighton (199).
Pioneer had another strong showing at the State Finals finishing with 259 points which landed the Pioneers in sixth place. Skyline had an impressive day as the Eagles landed in 14th place with 370 points while Huron finished 19th with 472 points and Dexter took 22nd with 501 points in the competitive 29-team field.
The top individual showing for local runners was Natasza Dudek’s brilliant finish to her first year of cross country. The Pioneer freshman finished third overall with a time of 17:04.1 – a season-best for the ninth-grader. Midland Dow senior Victoria Garces was the clear winner with a time of 16:37.1. Holland West Ottawa senior Helen Sachs finished just a few steps ahead of Dudek with a time of 17:01.7. Stevenson senior Kaelin Hughes was fourth in 17:36.2.
Speaking of amazing races by Ann Arbor freshmen, Skyline ninth-grader Lucia Llanes nearly cracked the top 10 with her 12th place time of 17:49.8 – another PR. Okemos freshman Rachel Smith was 10th in 17:46.7 – just to show how close the Eagle was to landing in the top 10 in her first race at MIS.
And staying with the freshmen trend – Pioneer ninth-grader Sienna Klemmer ran a time of 17:57.1 to place 15th overall in the 262-runner field.
Other Pioneer runners crossing the finish line at MIS were sophomore Nina Moore (80th, 19:11.7); junior Bridget Kerber (126th, 19:39.7); junior Hana Boggess (135th, 19:44.1); senior Lucy Pike (175th, 20:05.1); and sophomore Lucinda Gubbini (188th, 20:14.2).
Other Skyline runners running strong races were sophomore Irie Scrase (73rd, 19:05.3); sophomore Isla Tharp (84th, 19:12.7); freshman Lila Edison (155th, 19:53.0); senior Ayla Balazer (184th, 20:10.5); sophomore Gwen Stotts-Walshe (185th, 20:10.6); and junior Adrienne Stewart (197th, 20:25.7).
Lucinda Paliani led the River Rats across the finish line with her PR time of 18:30.9 which landed her in 31st place. A strong finish to a strong career for the senior runner. Other strong finishes for Huron were turned in by junior Leena Shelgikar (85th, 19:14.3); freshman Sadie Bohnsack (131st, 19:42.0); freshman Zoe Bossmann (200th, 20:27.3); freshman Mira Shelgikar (204th, 20:30.6); junior Tanishka Tewari (255th, 21:48.4); and senior Julieta Turon (262nd, 23:27.1).
Alena Blumberg led the Dreadnaughts across the finish line with her time of 19:01.0 which landed the senior in 67th place. Other strong finishes for the Dreadnaughts were run by sophomore Kodie Snyder (146th, 19:50.6); senior Annabel O’Haver (152nd, 19:52.2); junior Amelia Cribbins (162nd, 19:58.1); freshman Layla Blumberg (166th, 19:59.7); senior Addison Bruckman (183rd, 20:10.3); and junior Kennedy Matson (203rd, 20:29.6).
