It was a showcase of speed from local teams at Michigan International Speedway this past Saturday, as a handful of CSAA teams competed at the MHSAA Cross Country state finals.

On what was a great day for running weather-wise, the event certainly showed with one of the fastest set of races in championship history in terms of time.

Starting in division two boys’ race, Hayden Gould and Alex Culver represented Big Rapids and Tri-County respectfully finishing 109^th and 170^th out of the heavily contested 252-person field.

Leading the way in the division three boys’ race was Reed City, who collected a fourth-place team finish with 217 points and three all state honorees with 2^nd, 15^th, and 29^th places for junior Gus Rohde, senior Anthony Kianus, and senior Ryan Allen respectfully.

 

*Reed City team picture following award presentations (provided by Rich Saladin).

 

"The boys’ team has been working toward this year since Ryan and Anthony were freshmen,” Reed City head coach Rich Saladin said. “Truly a great performance from our runners. The 4th place effort as a team matches the 1982 boys' team and is best in school history."

Also in the race was Central Montcalm, who outperformed analysts’ projections for a fifth-place finish with 242 points. They were led by sophomore standout Gage Hoffman finishing 8^th overall and senior Graham Coston who placed 25^th for all-state medals.

Competing individually in the race were senior Samuel Martini of Kent City who placed 5^th and senior Tyler Vining of Morley Stanwood who finished 151^st overall.

On the women’s side, Central Montcalm led the CSAA with an 8^th place finish in the division three race, followed closely behind Chippewa Hills in 11^th and Kent City in 14^th.

The Hornets were led by all-state performances from a 3^rd place and 12^th place finish in juniors Kyah Hoffman and Ashley Choponis. Sophomore Grace Coston also took the final all-state spot with a 30^th place finish.

For the remaining CSAA teams’ all-state finishers, Lakeview’s Kamryn Salladay placed 8^th, Kent City’s Lila Volkers finished 10^th, Morley Stanwood’s Miranda McNeil placed 16^th, and Chippewa Hills’ Avalina Hollandsworth finished 18^th.

Down in division four, White Cloud placed 16^th overall in the boy’s race. Upperclassmen Coleson Cruzan and Carson Foondle led the Indians with 36^th and 99^th place finishes respectfully. Individually in the girl’s race, Andrea Feldpausch placed 100^th in the 244-runner field.

 

*White Cloud team picture at Michigan International Speedway (provided by Andrea Atwood).

 

“Running at the state meet is a great honor and privilege,” White Cloud head Coach Andrea Atwood said. “Your hard work and efforts to qualify to have the chance to compete is to be commended.”

For full results, visit www.mhsaa.com/sports/boys-cross-country or www.mhsaa.com/sports/girls-cross-country.