By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Sports Writer
LAKE ORION — Clarkston Cross Country teams finished on the top in their first OAA Red Jamboree at Lake Orion High School.
The boys and girls varsity teams both finished in second place in their races.
The boys finished with 53 points behind Troy, who finished with 42 points for first place.
“We ran well,” said Clarkston Boys Cross Country Coach Larry Adams. “We had our full lineup, but I don’t think we were at full strength. We knew Troy was gunning for us. They are a solid team.”
The top five runners were: senior Bryce Nowik in fifth place in the time of 16:44.5; junior Cayden DeGrendel, sixth, 16:45.1; sophomore Ryan Barnes, ninth, 17:01.3; junior Joshua Ellingsworth, 16th, 17:33.9; and senior Andrew Floros, 17th, 17:38.
“ Andrew – it was his first race coming off a little injury so he had been off for a little bit,” Adams shared. “He ran well for it being his first race. Bryce and Caden, up front, did a nice job of running together towards the front. It helped a lot because between us, Troy and Oxford there was a lot of touch and go during the whole meet. That part of the race was good. Josh did a nice job. He just continues to get stronger and stronger every week. Last year he was back of the pack. He helped out where our guys were coming back from something.”
The rest of the OAA Red teams finished with Oxford in third place with 63 points; Lake Orion, fourth, 85; Rochester Adams, fifth, 112; and Birmingham Seaholm, sixth, 166.
“With the jamboree, the nice thing is we lost the jamboree last year to Troy and then we came back to win the league meet and the league championship because of it,” Adams said. “We are kind of in the same boat we were in last year.”
The Wolves finished with 63 points in the girls varsity race to take second place.
“I was really happy with the results. I felt like they did well,” said Clarkston Girls Cross Country Coach Kevin Breen. “Going into the race we were ranked towards the back end of the league. To finish out in second place, again with Alex Brigham not back yet and that makes a huge difference. We don’t have a front runner right now, but the pack is doing well.”
The top five runners were: senior Anna Reineck in fourth place in the time of 20:51.9; freshman Addison Brigham, fifth, 20:59.3; freshman Avery DeGrendel, sixth, 20:59.6; sophomore Sydney Fischer, 18th, 22:10.4; and freshman Logan Robison, 30th, 22:35.9 .
“Anna, Addison and Avery and Addison really stepped up in the race and finished well,” Breen said. “We also had some young ones who are still showing at the back – like freshmen with Logan and Kendal (Russette).”
For teams, Oxford finished in first place with 42 points; Rochester Adams, third, 75; Troy, fourth, 78; Lake Orion, fifth, 107; and Birmingham Seaholm, sixth, 117.
The JV runners finished in first place for the girls with 23 points. The top five runners were: senior Macy McNaughton in second place in the time of 23:20.3; senior Morgan Poploskie, third, 23:40.6; junior Lily Miles, fourth, 23:40.3; freshman Paityn Sweet, fifth, 23:40.6; and senior Nora Miller, ninth, 24:13.8.
“They really came out strong,” said Breen.
For teams, Lake Orion finished in second with 67 points; Troy, third, 73; Birmingham Seaholm, fourth, 108; Oxford, fifth, 131; and Rochester Adams, sixth, 145.
The boys JV runners finished in second place with 52 points. The top five runners were: sophomore Anthony Dubeck in fourth place in the time of 18:52.4; junior Jack Tultz, seventh, 19:09.9; sophomore Grant Jurand, 13th, 19:42.1; sophomore Braden Ryske, 14th, 19:46.2; and senior Craig Popiolek, 17th, 20:07.7.
For teams, Troy finished in first place with 17 points; Rochester Adams, third, 90; Lake Orion, fourth, 95; Oxford, fifth, 134; Birmingham Seaholm, sixth, 177.
The JV runners competed at the Autumn Classic at Stony Creek Metropark on Saturday.
The girls finished in second place with 87 points. The top five runners were: Robison in seventh place in the time of 21:54; Russette, 11th, 22:15; Poploskie, 20th, 22:42; McNaughton, 26th, 22:53; and Sweet, 28th, 23:00.
“The course is one we have traditionally used to develop our JV runners,” Breen said. “It’s a nice course, somewhat flat. I’m sure as long as the ground and the footing is good we will probably will have some pretty fast times. It really gives them the opportunity to run as a varsity group in a varsity race.”
The boys finished in fourth place with 143 points. The top five runners were: junior Braden Waechter in 13th place in the time of 17:37; sophomore Trent Logan, 17th, 17:52; Dubeck, 31st, 18:19; Jurand, 37th, 18:34; and Tultz, 45th, 18:48.
“We have some nice young talent which is coming along well,” said Adams. “They are stepping up.”
The varsity runners head to the Jackson Invitational this Saturday.
Breen and Adams shared it gives the student-athletes an opportunity to see different teams.
“We get to see what else is out there – wake the girls up to some of the competition that’s out there and we have to rise up to when it comes to regionals and states,” Breen said.
The Wolves head to the second OAA Red Jamboree at Stony Creek Metropark on Tuesday, Sept. 26.