The Lake Orion boys cross country team will make another trip to the state finals this weekend, but this time they’ll be joined by the girls? team, which qualified for their first ever finals by taking second at the regional event held at Springfield Oaks in Davisburg last Saturday.
‘I had a feeling, even from last year, that we could qualify,? Girls? Coach Debi McDonald said. ‘The big shock was that we finished second.?
The girls edged Clarkston for second place, with their 91 points leaving them 15 behind winner Milford and two ahead of the Wolves. The top three teams qualify for states.
Allie Hock led Lake Orion with a seventh place finish (19:38.4, 1:15.2 behind the overall winner).
Lisa Bandico (12th place, 19:50.9), Sydney Gutierrez (17th place, 20:32.3), Sammie Kaufman (27th place, 21:08.2) and Rebecca Dow (28th place, 21:09.5) rounded out LO’s top racers.
Regionals marked the second time in as many weeks that the Dragons topped Clarkston, having done the same at the OAA I meet.
‘The league meet gave us some confidence,? McDonald said, noting her young team has steadily improved all season and is looking forward to their first race this year on a completely flat course.
‘The girls have worked hard all season to accomplish their goals,? she said.
On the boys? side, Lake Orion’s 58 points topped Milford by 11 for first place.
‘We hadn’t been running very well since the county meet (where LO topped Milford for first place),? said Boys? Coach Stan Ford. ‘I knew that if we didn’t run well, Milford could get us.?
The Dragons were led by Ryan Ziolko’s seventh place finish (17:19.4, 19.2 seconds behind the overall winner), as he edged teammate Doug Mack (eighth place) by 0.8 seconds.
Nathan Ziolko (13th place, 17:36.7), Sean Bone (14th place, 17:38.9) and Kyle Lawton (16th place, 17:43.2) added to the Lake Orion cause.
‘To get all five of them in that tightly is why we won,? Ford said. ‘They ran really well together.?
The boys? team should improve on a 10th place finish from a year ago and would like to top their fifth place finish from 2005.
‘The best we’ve ever done there is fifth, so anything above that would be great,? Ford said.
The state finals will be held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn on Saturday, with the Division I girls? race starting at 2 p.m. and the boys? race set for 3 p.m.