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For years, the team has been split this weekend. Some of our athletes have run a race at Sterling State Park while others have run at the Jackson Invitational. Before this season started, the coaches and captains met and this weekend was one of the topics on the agenda. The captains and coaches were united in their desire to have the entire team race at the Jackson Invitational - and so a change was made!
On Friday night our open runners competed at the ultra competitive meet and won!! Our 63 points bested White Lake Lakeland (78) and TTUN (81). It was a great way to introduce the team to Jackson.
Riley Provost and Mahalia Staton took a tour of the course in 22:15 and 22:17 respectively. They did what we ask runners to do - found each other early and worked together. They pushed each other and helped Mahalia achieve a PR.
Seniors Lizzie Thibeault (captain) and Carrie Schwartz were the next 2 across the finish line. Lizzie had one of the strongest 3rd miles I have seen from any runner this season.
Jillian Hayes ran a season best 22:58 followed by Kylie Warner who also ran a season best on the fast Jackson course. Kennedy Lange rounded out the top 7 in 23:34.
Ayla Stager returned to racing on Friday night. It was great to see her fully recovered from a basketball injury and able to race at Jackson. She and Ruthie Bonfiglio worked together in 24:16 and 24:17.
Grace Gady was another athlete making a triumphant return to cross country racing. Grace's 24:04 was an impressive first high school cross country race.
Marissa Salazar continued to change her PR. With the exception of one race this season, Marissa has PR'd every time she has lined up. At Jackson, her 24:17 was another PR for the freshman.
Shyla Smith (yes, the Shyla that you see in hurdle results in the winter and spring) is continuing to build an awesome base for track. Her 25:50 was a season best.
Hayley Hummel, a first year runner as a junior (hey, Hayley, I started running XC as a junior, too!!) knocked another 26 seconds off her PR and now has set that mark at 26:03.
Once again, Isabella Routson ran a PR reducing that mark by over a minute to run 27:00. She started the season at 31:57 - that's almost 5 minutes over the course of a 5k and I can assure you, she's not done yet! She was followed to the finish by captain Sienna Trier in a season best 27:11.
Shelby Fordeck ran a 30 second PR to finish in 30:28. Dylan Erickson rounded out the list of PR's for the day running a 1 minute 11 second PR of 31:48.
On Saturday, it was time for the varsity to represent Saline High School. Most of the varsity team had been at Jackson the night before to watch the open race. They were excited to continue the numerous PR's and SR's established by the rest of the team. If you believe in the rankings, we also knew we were racing #1 (Romeo), #4 (Brighton), #5 (TTUN) and #8 (Northville). With Saline ranked at #3, it was going to be loaded day of racing.
Jackson is the last invitational in which we can run 10 athletes in the varsity race. From this point forward, we are allowed 7 athletes in varsity races. As often happens this time of year, we learned we would only be 9. One of our teammates was out sick. As the team left for their warm up, I asked them to think about who was going to step up to fill the void. The answer was unanimous - THEY ALL DID!!
In a very tight race between places 2-4, Saline finished 4th. Romeo was first with 44 points. They were followed by TTUN at 102, Brighton at 106 and Saline at 109. That's about as close as it gets in a big race.
This is a good time to talk about the freshmen in the varsity ineup. They all PR'd at Jackson. McKinley Jones was the first Saline finisher, running 18:19 which is #2 on the freshman list and #11 on the all time Saline list. Savannah Staton, ran 18:27 #4 freshman and #14 all time. Addie Turck started the season at 22:38. Her PR on Saturday was 19:48 a 45 second PR over her previous mark. This trio has definitely been contributing to the success of the team.
Senior (and captain) Corynn Gady ran her season best of 18:45 and finished 3rd on the team. Lilli Schlack was Saline's 4th finisher in a season best 19:30. She was followed by Sophie Roth in a season best19:48. Sophie's last kilometer was one of the most amazing things I witnessed this weekend (I'm still waiting for her to upload her watch, but i know it was fast). Senior/Captain Grace Roth rounded out the scoring 7 with a 19:58, not only a season best but her first time sub 20 since she was a sophomore. Senior/Captain Abby Roth finished in 21:17 and Mackenzie Sellenraad finished in 21:30. Both of these athletes continue to gain some important takeaways that will be helpful as the weather cools and the team begins to round into peak fitness.
It was a great weekend for Saline XC. We know that there is work to do and our friends at TTUN are coming on stronger than ever. With that said, we are beginning to see the impact of all the training we have done this summer and early fall. As we start to get into championship season, we are excited to see what this team will do.
The team is next in action at Jambo 2 at TTUN (hosted by Skyline 🤷). If you have one of the white Saline XC shirts, or any other Saline gear, please wear it to the course! We'd love to see that particular course covered in Saline gear 😀.
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