Brandon’s girls cross country team had a more successful outing than their male counterparts at the Brandon Invitational.
The Blackhawk girls finished third out of seven teams at the meet, held Oct. 1 at Independence Oaks County Park in Independence Township. Brandon finished with 85 points, trailing first-place Rochester Stoney Creek (45) and second-place Waterford Kettering (70).
Meanwhile, the boys team finished eighth out of eight teams in that meet, finishing with 233 points. As in the girls race, Stoney Creek finished first (41), while Oxford took second (54) and Warren DeLaSalle third (67).
Jackie Back led the Brandon girls team, placing seventh among all competitors with a time of 23:14. Danielle Ashford was the other Blackhawk to finish in the top ten, finishing ninth (23:17.6).
Blake McLellan was the leading Brandon boys competitor, placing 39th overall (21:16), while Stewart Olney was close behind at 41st (21:30).
On Oct. 3, the girls team won the Linden Cross Country Classic with 57 points, defeating second-place Powers Catholic (84). The boys team finished fourth with 118 points, behind first-place St. Clair (39), second-place Fenton (68), and third-place Linden (106).
Kayla Doan was the leading Brandon girls runner, finished fourth among all runners (20:06), while Kelsey Carmean placed ninth (20:48). Brad Lawrence was the top Brandon boys runner, placing 10th among all boys competitors (17:42).