Shelby Township, Utica

Local runners advance to CC state finals

By Jon Malavolti
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Deb Jacques Utica Eisenhower’s Brianna Mozariwskyj (130) finished in 11th place at a cross country regional competition and will compete in the Nov. 3 state finals, along with Ike’s Kevin Salter. Photo by Deb Jacques Utica Eisenhower’s Brianna Mozariwskyj (130) finished in 11th place at a cross country regional competition and will compete in the Nov. 3 state finals, along with Ike’s Kevin Salter.

Boys and girls cross country regionals were held Oct. 26-27, and a couple of local runners qualified for the Nov. 3 state finals at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

Local qualifiers include a pair of Utica Eisenhower runners in Brianna Mozariwskyj and Kevin Salter from the Oct. 27 Division 1 regional at Goodells County Park.

Mozariwskyj, a freshman, ran a time of 19 minutes, 10 seconds to take 11th  in the girls race. Salter, a senior, finished in 16:16 and 13th place of the boys race.

Runners had to place among the top 15 individually, while teams had to be in the top three, to advance to the state finals.

The Ike girls placed sixth as a team, and the boys team finished 12th overall.

Utica High, meanwhile, saw both its teams finish 10th overall at the Goodells regional. Utica’s top boys runner was junior Andrei Rotar (16:47, 25th). On the girls side, sophomore Meredith Sorensen (20:15, 30th) and senior Vanessa Kwiatkowski (20:18, 32nd) led the Chieftains.

For complete regional results and state qualifier information, visit www.mhsaa.com. For more photos from regionals and throughout the cross country season, visit www.can dgnews.com.

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