MICHIGAN STATE MEET

Hough Runs Under 15 Minutes For A Second Time At Michigan Speedway

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Riley Hough won his second consecutive Division 1 cross country title, running 14:56.4 at Michigan Speedway. He made history by becoming the first athlete in meet history to break 15 minutes twice on the state finals course.

Brighton emerged from a handful of contending teams and beat runner-up Caledonia 141-175 for the boys team title. It's Brighton's second title in three years. 

Hough went through a conservative first mile in 4:50 and ran hard late to beat Seth Norder of Grand Haven (15:19.9), Benne Anderson of Ottawa Hills (15:22.8) and Peter Baracco of Farmington (15:25.6). 

The Ann Arbor Pioneer girls, led by sophomore Rachel Forsyth as individual champion in 17:09.3, won its third girls team championship in a row with 68 points. 

Forsyth beat a strong field that included second-place finisher senior Julia Flynn (17:20.4) of Traverse City Central and Holland West Ottawa junior Arianne Olson, third in 17:36.8.

In Division 2, the East Grand Rapids girls won their third championship in four years with 66 points. The team had three top-12 finishers, including Drew Muller (fifth in 18:23.2). 

Madelyn Frens of Grand Rapids Christian won the race in 17:52.3.

The Otswego boys survived a competitive team race with 135 points to take the D2 boys victory over Chelea (147), St. Johns (150) and Grand Rapids Christian (160). 

Caleb Jarema from Pinckney on the D2 individual title in 15:22.2.

The Hart girls won their fifth straight LP D3 team title, scoring 143 points. Behind Ithacha's Lani Bloom, who ran one of the fastest times of the day with 17:29.6, Hart went 2-3-4 with Alyson Enns, Jessica Jazwinski and Audrianna Enns. The team's fifth runner was 159th overall.  

The St. Louis boys won their second D3 championship in a row, with 104 points. 

Junior Hunter Jones of Benzie Central, one of the top runners in the state, won his third straight individual title in 15:08.4. 

Abby VanderKooi won her fourth straight Division 4 title and led her team to its first team championship. VanderKooi finished in 18:06.6.  

Lezawe Osterink of Wyoming Potter's House won the boys D4 final in 15:50.6. Hillsdale Academy won the team title.

At the Upper Peninsula state finals on Oct. 23, the Marquette boys won their third straight D1 boys title with 32 points. Houghton repeated as the girls champion. 

The Painesville-Jeffers Jets won their first boys team title since 2009. The team went 1-2-3-5-16 on the way to 22 points and the team title. Simone Barp led the way with 18:30.1.

Hancock beat Ishpeming 43-54 to claim the girls title. Lola Korpi from Ishpeming ran 20:04.9 for the win. 

The Dollar Bay boys and Munising girls both won the UP D3 titles for the second straight year.  

Team Champions - 

Lower Peninsula 

Division 1 - Brighton boys 141 points, Ann Arbor Pioneer girls 68 points - RESULTS

Division 2 - Otsego boys 135 points, East Grand Rapids girls 66 points - RESULTS

Division 3 - St. Louis boys 104 points, Hart girls 143 points - RESULTS

Division 4 - Hillsdale Academy boys 154 points, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian girls 98 points - RESULTS

Upper Peninsula (Oct. 23)

Division 1 - Marquette boys 32 points, Houghton girls 52 points - RESULTS

Division 2 - Painesville-Jeffers boys 22 points, Hancock girls 43 points - RESULTS

Division 3 - Dollar Bay boys 57 points, Munising girls 31 points - RESULTS