Cross country regional roundup: St. Johns, Okemos, Lansing Catholic, P-W among team champs
Ava Schafer accomplished another one of her big goals.
And the freshman star helped the St. Johns girls cross country team earn a championsip.
Schafer was the overall winner Friday at a Division 2 regional at DeWitt while helping the Redwings capture the team title.
Schafer, who was the winner at the Greater Lansing Championships earlier this month, finished with a time of 18:28.6. She was one of four runners to place in the top 10 for St. Johns, which finished with 52 points.
Abby Young was fourth for St. Johns, while Clara Fletcher placed seventh and Miriam Kloha took 10th.
DeWitt was the runner-up with 69 points and Owosso was third with 70.
Kayla Williams placed third while leading DeWitt, while Josie Jenkinson took sixth to pace Owosso.
Mason’s Meghan Ford was the individual runner-up.
Division 3 at DeWitt
Pewamo-Westphalia had each of its top five runners finish in the top 10 while capturing a regional title with 30 points on Friday. The Pirates finished seven points ahead of runner-up Stanton Central Montcalm, while Laingsburg placed third with 89 points.
Whitney Werner led P-W and finished third overall. P-W’s other top-10 finishers included Alysaa Kramer (fifth), Jenna Keilen (sixth), Abbie Schnieder (seventh) and Melanie Werner (ninth).
Division 1 at Shepherd
Okemos added to its strong season Friday by winning a team regional title. The Wolves had 60 points and finished 20 ahead of runner-up Traverse City West.
Shannon Gillahan led the strong showing for Okemos and was fourth individually with a time of 18:55.5. Gillahan was one of four top-15 placers for the Wolves. Nicole Mays was 11th, Lily Salazar placed 13th and October Harns took 14th for Okemos.
Holt’s Lauren Walker finished seventh and joined Gillahan in the top 10 individually.
Division 3 at Milford
Behind three top-five finishers, Lansing Catholic edged Leslie for a regional title Friday at Kensington Metropark. Lansing Catholic had a score of 31, while Leslie was the runner-up with 34 points.
Tessa Roe led Lansing Catholic and finished as the individual champion with a time of 19:22.7. Frances Melinn was fourth and Grace Wonch took fifth and Avery Miller finished ninth for the Cougars.
Leslie was paced by Erin Lubahn, who was third in 21:44.1. The Blackhawks also had top-10 placers in Hailey Creisher (sixth), Jaidyn Smith (seventh) and Mia Papendick (eighth).
Division 3 at Shepherd
Liliana Lehnst was one of three runners to finish in the top 10 while leading Ithaca to a runner-up finish at Friday’s regional. The Yellowjackets finished with a score of 67, 18 behind champion Caro.
Lehnst had a time of 19:29.3 and was third overall, while Myleigh Hepner took eighth and Makinna Foglesong was 10th for Ithaca.
Division 2 at Shepherd
Ezgi Kurt was third individually with a time of 18:45.7 and helped Alma finish fourth as a team at Friday’s regional. Joy Evans was also a state qualifier and placed 11th for Alma.
BOYS
Division 3 at DeWitt
Behind individual champion Collin Farmer, Pewamo-Westphalia won a Division 3 regional title on Friday at DeWitt.
Farmer had a time of 16:15.8 while winning the regional. He was one of four runners to place in the top 10 for P-W, which finished with 37 points. Stanton Central Montcalm was the runner-up with 45 points and Bath placed third with a score of 69.
Allan George (sixth), Wyatt Werner (seventh) and Sam Muirhead (10th) were the other top-10 placers for P-W.
Bath was led by Carter Holmes, who placed eighth.
Division 2 at DeWitt
St. Johns finished as the runner-up and host DeWitt took third at Friday’s regional. St. Johns ended up a point behind champion Parma Western with its score of 67, while DeWitt had 79 points.
Isaac Staib was fifth to lead St. Johns and Nolan Inglis placed sixth for DeWitt.
Haslett’s Nate Carmody was the overall champion with a time of 16:11.7, while teammate Dylan Lydic was third in 16:22.2.
Division 3 at Milford
Lucas Gates was one of two top-10 finishers who helped Lansing Catholic finish just ahead of Leslie for a regional title Friday at Kensington Metropark.
Gates was seventh and Teo Krumm was ninth while helping Lansing Catholic to a score of 59. Leslie was the runner-up with 64 points and Dansville was third with 97 points.
Kenneth Mangles was fifth and Cooper Schmelter placed eighth to lead Leslie.
Dansville’s Theodore Davis was the overall champion with a time of 17:17.7.
Division 2 at Shepherd
Thomas Larson and Ezekiel Baltierra finished in the top five while leading Alma to a regional title on Friday. The Panthers had 62 points and were 31 points ahead of runner-up Frankenmuth.
Larson was third individually with a time of 15:47.1, while Baltierra was fourth in 15:47.6.
Division 1 at Shepherd
Grand Ledge’s Benjamin Rottier and Okemos’ Ian Morgan were top-10 placers at Friday’s regional.
Rottier was eighth with a time of 16:04.7 and Morgan placed ninth in 16:11.7.
Okemos was the top area team placer and took fourth.
Division 3 at Shepherd
Landen Styka and Miingen Bertrand were top-five placers while leading Ithaca to a runner-up finish at Friday’s regional. Ithaca finished with a score of 72, which was 25 behind champion St. Louis.
Styka had a time of 16:20.1 while placing third and Bertrand was fourth in 16:46.1
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Cross country: St. Johns, Okemos, Pewamo-Westphalia win regionals
