Allie Hock made the All-State team for a third straight year and Ryan Ziolko did so for the second time, highlighting a state final where both the boys and girls cross country teams placed in the top-15.
The boys? squad took eighth place and the girls? team finished 13th Saturday at Brooklyn’s Michigan International Speedway.
Ziolko’s time of 15:58 led the Lake Orion boys, and was good enough for 27th place overall.
‘He actually ran three seconds faster than last year, but fell nine places,? Coach Stan Ford noted. ‘The depth at the meet was tremendous.?
Of the 26 racers to finish ahead of the LOHS junior, Ford said 21 were seniors.
As a team, they improved two spots from last year, with Ziolko finishing 18th among runners representing a team, followed by teammates Nathan Ziolko (34th, 16:17.7), Doug Mack (37th, 16:20.5), Sean Bone (75th, 16:41) and Kyle Lawton (102nd, 17:01).
Ian and Zach Prochaska (115th and 121st, respectively) both ran well for the Dragons, too.
Lake Orion finished with 266 points, as Pinckney took first place with 124 points.
‘Our most successful races we’ve been tightly packed,? Ford noted. ‘We just weren’t as tight as we’ve been in the past.?
‘But it can’t detract from all they’ve accomplished this year,? he added.
Among those accomplishments is the first county meet title in school history.
‘There are over 250 runners and they’re bolting out there like crazy,? Ford said of the state meet course. ‘It’s a real fine line in terms of pacing.?
‘I can’t call timeout,? he joked. ‘The race kind of dictates their response.?
With only Lawton graduating this year, the coach said the team will aim to get back and improve on their result next year.
‘We’ll have a strong team returning,? Ford said. ‘Hopefully we can apply this experience to it.?
For the girls, Hock was 28th overall with a time of 18:38.9, in spite of needing IV fluids after the race for dehydration.
‘She ran the same time she did last year,? Coach Debi McDonald noted, adding that Hock was more worried about her placement than medical treatment and asked the ambulance driver where she finished.
Her result was 22nd among team racers, followed by teammates Lisa Bandico (36th, 18:59.3), Sydney Gutierrez (49th, 19:17.1), Sammie Kaufman (97th, 19:58.8) and Rebecca Dow (20:11.3). Kelsey Fish and Kelsey Lee (145th and 156th, respectively) also ran strong.
Lake Orion finished with 311 points, as league foe Rochester’s 108 points ran away with the title.
‘I was extremely impressed with how they ran,? McDonald said. ‘They finished well above what I expected.?
Like Ford, she hopes her team can use this trip as motivation for next year.
‘We obviously want to experience it again next year,? McDonald said. ‘This might help off-season training.?