Fighting less than ideal conditions, the Goodrich girls cross country team earned a chance to defend their Division 3 state title.
On Oct. 30 at Davisburg, the Martians won the Division 3 regional meet with 33 points, well ahead of second place Macomb Lutheran North (70) and third place Williamston (84). The top three teams qualify for the state finals Nov. 6 in Brooklyn.
The Martians and the other teams at the meet dealt with muddy conditions throughout the meet caused by rainy conditions Oct. 29-30, and couldn’t quite match their performance from last year, when they tallied 27 points.
However, the Martians still dominated the meet to win their fourth regional title in five years, and compete at states for the fifth straight year.
Senior Janee Jones finished in second place with a time of 19:40.7, about six seconds behind first-place finisher Megan Young of Detroit Country Day (19:34.9). Sophomores Kayla and Kaitlin O’Mara finished fifth and seventh, respectively, with Kayla finishing in 20:31.6 and Kaitlin in 20:47.7.
Rounding out the Goodrich scoring were sophomore Kelsey Krych (ninth, 20:52.9) and freshman Mary Haiderer (10th, 20:59.1).
In addition, sophomore Kelsey Meyers finished 17th overall (21:34.5), but did not figure in the team scoring.
The Goodrich boys cross team was not as fortunate as the girls team, as the Martian boys finished seventh with 172 points, thus bringing their season to an end.
Williamston (19), Detroit Country Day (97), and Durand (106) finished in the top three at the meet.
Despite the Martians? loss, senior Jeremy Phan earned a trip to the state meet by finishing 14th overall with a time of 18:40.7.