If you're new to the team, you should know that the SEC Jamborees mean something. While we all want to do our best at invites, the meets against our conference teams carry the extra weight of showing who is the best team in the Washtenaw and some neighboring counties. Some coaches choose to rest top athletes or not take these seriously; this is not what we do here. Saline boys won both the varsity and reserve races and firmly put the foot down as the team to beat in the SEC this season.

Junior Brennan LaRusso ran a blazing season's best of 16:30.2 on a hot day to finish as Saline's top finisher in 4th overall. LaRusso is now the third different runner to lead the Hornets this season after Szalay and Meshinchi have previously held these honors. A testament to this team's depth is our top guys are competing with each other, not just the other teams. Iron sharpens iron.

9th grader Maxwell Li had yet to complete a 5k before this week. Well, this week he decided to change that narrative and complete two in 5 days notching finishes at both the Jamboree and the New Boston Huron Invitational. We are proud of the determination and drive from this young man.

Carter Mitton might as well be known as "Surf and Turf" with how this season is going. While also known for his performance on the diving platform, Carter has decided to shave over 90 seconds off of last season's PR. At the New Boston Huron Invitational, he ran a shiny new PR of 17:53.00. At this same meet one year ago, he ran 22:26. I'm not sure he'll be known primarily as a diver for much longer...

In many sports, the varsity lineup/roster is pretty set from game one. Even in cross country, the majority of teams have a pretty clear idea of who will occupy the varsity spots before the season even starts. Capping off two impressive performances at Willow this week, senior Will Rosales ran a season's best of 17:09.8 at the New Boston Huron Invitational on Saturday. That currently ranks him as the 8th fastest Hornet this season in a sport that lines up 7 runners at championship meets. In the ENTIRE STATE of Michigan, only 1 team has a faster 7th man and that team is Northville High, the defending state champions. Fun fact, Saline's 9th and 10th are faster than theirs. Who will line up at MIS in the Fall? Like I said above, "Iron Sharpens Iron!"