Oakland County

Close calls at county meet

By Jon Malavolti
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Donna Agusti Walled Lake Western senior Julia Valencia finished in sixth place at the county meet. Photo by Donna Agusti Walled Lake Western senior Julia Valencia finished in sixth place at the county meet.

Even on a 5,000-meter long cross country course with hundreds of runners from dozens of schools, the old adages rang true: every second and every point counts.

Birmingham Seaholm’s girls cross country team won its first-ever Oakland County title Oct. 8 at Kensington Metropark, edging Oxford High by one point.

And in the boys competition, Highland Milford’s Cody Snavely edged teammate Brian Kettle by one second for the individual title.

The close calls are hardly surprising to those who follow the sport locally.

“Oakland County may have the toughest competition in the state, which makes the win even that much more satisfying,” Seaholm coach Jeffrey Devantier said. “I am very proud of this team.”

Seaholm’s girls edged Oxford 134-135.

Troy High finished in third place of the girls team competition with 183 points, followed by Rochester Adams (220), Walled Lake Northern (241), Highland Milford (260), Bloomfield Hills Lahser (265), Farmington High (273), Rochester High (282) and Clarkston High (294) in the top 10.

Rounding out the top 20 are Waterford Mott with 297 points, followed by Lake Orion High (303), North Farmington (312), Farmington Hills Mercy (346), Novi High (355), Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (383), Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (391), Walled Lake Western (452), Bloomfield Hills Andover (460) and Birmingham Groves (518).

Individually, Erin Finn of West Bloomfield High won her second straight county title, finishing in 17 minutes, 41 seconds. Oxford’s Brooke Kovacic placed second, followed by Jamie Morrissey (Adams), Tess Wilberding (Seaholm), Gabby Thivierge (Adams), Julia Valencia (Walled Lake Western), Gabby DeFlorio (Farmington), Aubrey Wilberding (Seaholm), Jackie Mullins (Novi High) and Audrey Belf (Seaholm).

Rounding out the top 20 are Bloomfield Hills Lahser’s Elena Miller in 11th, followed by Jackie Feist (Groves), Sara Barron (Notre Dame), Sarah Johnson (Adams), Victoria Irwin (North Farmington), Rachel Barrett (Milford), Heather Smith (Mercy), Daya Wagh (Mott), Brittany Johnson (Oxford) and Katelyn Cliff (W.L. Northern).

On the boys side, there was another tight battle near the top of the team standings, as Waterford Mott placed second behind Milford with 111 points, edging White Lake Lakeland (112), which finished third. Novi-Detroit Catholic Central took fourth with 142 points, followed by Clarkston (214), Lake Orion (237), W.L. Northern (237), Farmington (288), Adams (314) and Stoney Creek (327) to round out the top 10.

The next 10 teams were Oxford (340), Birmingham Brother Rice (343), Troy High (369), Royal Oak High (372), Novi (467), Seaholm (488), West Bloomfield (506), Rochester High (546), Lahser (554) and South Lyon High (561).

Milford’s Snavely won with a time of 16:11, while teammate Brian Kettle finished second in 16:12. White Lake Lakeland’s Garret Zuk placed third, followed by Nathan Burnand (Lakeland), Stephen Biebelhausen (Adams), Paul Ausum (Milford), William Yau (Troy High), T.J. Carey (Lake Orion), Ryan Boyd (C.C.) and Brandon Carson (Waterford Mott).

Hazel Park High’s Dallas Shields finished in 11th place, followed by John Penington (Brother Rice), Blake Pozolo (Rochester), Sam Tanielian (Clarkston), Scott Neff (Lakeland), Jarred Bratley (Andover), Grayson Thomas (Lakeland), Alex Glasson (W.L. Northern), Drew Lindman (Farmington) and Ryan Robinson (Waterford Mott).

The cross country season now enters its final few weeks, with regionals Oct. 28-29 and the state finals Nov. 5.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Jon Malavolti at jmalavolti@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1040. Follow Jon on Twitter.