By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Sports Writer
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — Clarkston Boys Cross Country topped Troy in the third and final OAA Red Jamboree during the varsity race at Clintonwood Park last Thursday.
The Wolves finished in first place with 39 points with five runners finishing in the top 15 and all seven in the top 25.
Senior Bryce Nowik led the pack, finishing in fourth place in the time of 16:01.2. Junior Cayden DeGrendel finished in fifth place in the time of 16:01.9; senior Andrew Floros, eighth, 16:20.4; sophomore Ryan Barnes, tenth, 16:23.4; junior Jaxson, 12th, 16:23.9; junior Braden Waechter, 22nd, 16:58.4; junior Joshua Ellingsworth, 23rd, 17:03.50; and junior Kent Wilson, 24th, 17:04.
Troy finished in second place with 43 points; Oxford, third, 68; Lake Orion, fourth, 93; Rochester Adams, fifth, 114; and Birmingham Seaholm, sixth, 156.
The girls varsity team finished in second place with 49 points.
“We did really well,” said Kevin Breen, head coach for the girls team. “We still haven’t put it all together on the same day, but we are much closer now.”
Senior Alexandra Brigham led the team with a third place finish in the time of 19:03.7.
“Alex is back,” Breen said. “Alex has been keeping times down since she came back from her injury. “
Senior Anna Reineck finished in fifth place in the time of 19:22.
“Anna really got after it,” Breen noted.
Freshman Avery DeGrendel placed in tenth, 19:42.4; freshman Addison Brigham, 13th, 19:56.5; sophomore Sydney Fischer, 18th, 20:06.6; and freshman Logan Robison, 26th, 20:42.6.
“Logan had a huge PR,” Breen said. “She ran a minute faster than she had before. She had a huge race.”
Oxford finished in first place with 40 points; Rochester Adams, third, 72; Lake Orion, fourth, 83; Troy, fifth, 115; and Birmingham Seaholm, sixth, 140.
“The one thing I really liked about this meet was we closed the gap,” Breen said. “They (Oxford) beat us the first jamboree pretty handedly. Now, we are within nine points.”
The girls JV team took first place with 46 points with six runners finishing in the top 20.
Freshman Paityn Sweet finished in fourth place in the time of 21:45.1; junior Lily Miles, eighth, 21:49.4; senior Morgan Poploski, 12th, 22:04.4; sophomore Skylar Drinkard, 13th, 22:07.3; senior Claire Walker, 17th, 22:22.6; and junior Lauren Williams, 19th, 22:35.
“It was a good performance,” Breen said. “The JV team in general is starting to shape up. We have some standouts pushing the end of that varsity group. It always makes it a little bit better quality wise.”
Lake Orion finished in second place with 73 points; Birmingham Seaholm, third, 77; Oxford, fourth, 80; Troy, fifth, 114; and Rochester Adams, sixth, 130.
The boys JV team finished in second place with 36 points and the Wolves had seven runners finished in the top 25.
Sophomore Trent Logan finished in second place in the time of 17:35; senior Matthew Boor, third, 17:35.1; sophomore Anthony Dubeck, sixth, 17:51.5; junior Jack Tultz, seventh, 17:54.2; sophomore Grant Jurand, 19th, 18:46.9; freshman Gavin Culloty, 22nd, 18:50.6; and freshman Max Stokes, 23rd, 18:51.1.
Troy finished in first place with 27 points; Rochester Adams, third, 73; Oxford, fourth, 113; Lake Orion, fifth, 152; and Birmingham Seaholm, 159.
The Wolves host the MHSAA Division 1 Cross Country Regional 8 meet at Clintonwood Park this Friday
“We have the hypothetical that gives us an idea of where we stand,” Breen said. “Right now the ladies are sitting in third place. Lake Orion and Rochester beat us at the county meet but we just didn’t run well on the day of the county meet. I am hoping we put it all together we should be able to beat Lake Orion like we did yesterday (at regionals). We should be able to beat Rochester but we also have to look out for Utica and Oxford. It’s going to be tight. There are a lot of really good teams. Teams that are ranked in the top 15 in the state who are all battling for three spots.”
The varsity girls race begins at 3 p.m. with varsity boys at 3:40 p.m. The girls’ Post Regional Open Meet race (PROM) is at 4:15 p.m. The boys’ PROM race is at 5 p.m. Awards are at 5:30 p.m.