Dakota cross-country finds confidence in redemption season

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — It’s been all about redemption for Macomb Dakota boys and girls cross-country this season.

For the girls, they were eager to reestablish themselves in the Macomb Area Conference Red and improve on their 16th-place finish at the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state finals.

While the MAC Red was on the mind of the boys as well, there was still a chip left on the team’s shoulders from their fourth-place finish at regionals, which meant they missed the cut for qualifying for states.

“That was a pretty big driving force for our kids that they were not going to let things be up to chance,” Dakota boys coach Michael Timpa said. “I think that was probably the most motivating factor. Just seeing their seniors fall short as a team, I think that left a bad taste in their mouth and has been on their mind since.”

This season, neither side is leaving a shadow of doubt as regionals sit just three weeks away.

 

Boys
It’s about rewriting the regionals finish from last season, and you can guarantee that’s every runner’s goal on the Dakota boys side this year.

“Team states for sure,” senior Carter Fox said. “Last year, we barely missed it by seven points. That was a really hard thing for us to not hit last year, so we want to do it this year.”

Fox and company took a massive step forward this year when they captured first at the MAC Red Jamboree at Stony Creek Metropark on Sept. 12, winning the MAC Red dual meet championship this year.

Fox finished in third while senior Simon Davis (6th) and junior Colton Howell (8th) each tallied a top-10 finish.

It was as tight of a race as it could get with the top-three teams being separated by eight points, but Dakota’s 51 points just edged Romeo’s 56.

Junior Lucas LaMilza, who’s shown vast improvements this season, finished 11th, and Timpa said he’s been one of the bright spots of the team this year.

“He’s really taken a big leap for us,” Timpa said. “We kind of started to see some of it last year in winter track and during outdoor track and field, but from last year’s cross year to this year, he’s probably the biggest leap.”

Following their win, Dakota posted an impressive showing at the Jackson Invitational at Ella Sharp Park in Jackson on Sept. 23, finishing fifth in a field of 29 teams.

Dakota finished behind Clarkston, White Lake Lakeland, Troy and Ann Arbor Pioneer, which are all currently ranked in the top 15 in Division 1, according to MHSAA.

Fox said it was another confidence boost the squad needed before regionals.

“We’ve been kind of the underdogs in every meet and every race, and we’re just proving them all wrong,” Fox said.

Fox and Davis will look to end their senior seasons on a strong note with the Macomb County championship (Oct 14) and regionals (Oct 27) still to come.

Both four-year varsity cross-country runners, Timpa said Fox and Davis have been the veteran leaders the team needed them to be this season.

“Those guys have been with us since freshman year, and they’re really putting their stamp on the team and the culture they want to create,” Timpa said. “They’ve been motivating each other and making our job easy for sure.”

 

Girls
Qualifying for states was a great sign for the girls cross-country team, and they’ve built off that confidence this season.

It’s all started with seniors Jayden Harberts and Mariah Belmont, who have been a dominant duo this season for Dakota.

Leading Dakota to second in the MAC Red Jamboree at Stony Creek Metropark on Sept. 12, Harberts and Belmont claimed the top-two spots in the race as Harberts was the MAC Red Jamboree champion.

Harberts, who finished seventh overall at the state finals last year, had yet to lose a single race all season until the Jackson Invitational where her second-place finish helped Dakota earn eighth.

Harberts said the top-10 finish at Jackson was a step in the right direction for the young Dakota squad.

“I think we underestimate ourselves sometimes because our team is really young and we got rid of some of our good girls last year, but we’re a lot better than we think we are and we’re still finding that confidence,” Harberts said.

Harberts and Belmont’s veteran leadership was much needed this season with the number of underclassmen on the girls side, but the young Dakota runners have been shining.

Sophomore Lidia Clancy finished 11th at the MAC Red Jamboree while sophomore Ryann Smitka took 20th and junior Julia Timpa took 21st. Freshman twins Aubrey and Kaitlyn Rizzo have been consistent contributors this year alongside freshman Jenna Billings.

There’s a lot of youth to this Dakota team, but they’re fighting every step of the way, and coach Thomas Zarzycki said the support of Harberts and Belmont played a vital role.

“We had one girl who had to come to practice late on Monday, so she was doing her practice on the track,” Zarzycki said. “They both stuck around a half hour after their practice was done just to be there and cheer the girl through her workout.”

Dakota will look to qualify for states as a team for the third consecutive year and improve on their 2022 states finish.