Bronson duo earns All-State honors at Cross Country State Finals
BROOKLYN, MI. - Over two thousand of the state’s best runners traveled to Brooklyn’s Michigan International Speedway (MIS) on Saturday to compete on the biggest cross-country stage in the state, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) State Finals.
The majority of Branch County’s representatives competed in the Division 3 race, as the Union City Charger boys were joined by four individual girls from three different schools to compete in the finals. In addition to the bevy of Division 3 runners, two runners from Tekonsha also competed on the day, tackling the Division 4 portion of the race.
Division 3 Girls MHSAA State Finals
A total of four individual runners from Branch County traveled to MIS to compete in the Division 3 girls state finals and two came away with All-State honors.
The Bronson duo of Ava Hathaway and Ashlynn Harris both tackled the 3.1-mile course and finished inside the top 30 to earn their All-State honor.
Hathaway, a junior, earned her second straight All-State honor with her 24th place finish in a time of 19 minutes, 09.4 seconds. Harris also found her way to the podium during her sophomore season, finishing in 14th place.
Harris, a sophomore, earned her first All-State honor in her first trip to the big stage, finishing in 29th place in a time of 19:16.0.
Union City was represented in the finals by freshman Alli Gautsche who finished in 54th place in a time of 20:09.1 in her first taste of the state finals stage.
Quincy was also represented by a rookie, as freshman Kendyl Musielewicz finished in 104th place in a time of 21:00.0.
The team from Jackson Lumen Christi took home the team state title with a score of 140 points, followed by Traverse City St. Francis in second place with a score of 177.
Hart junior Jessica Jazwinski brought home the individual title with a solid run, crossing the line in a time of 17:08.8 while Lumen Christi senior Madison Osterberg finished with runner-up honors in a time of 17:49.5.
Division 3 Boys MHSAA State Finals
The Union City Charger boy's cross-country team traveled to the MHSAA State Finals for the first time in nearly three decades, qualifying thanks to their third-place finish at regionals this past week. The Charger boys finished in 26th place in the team standings with a score of 602 points.
The Union City effort was paced by sophomore record setting runner Ben Gautsche who finished inside the top 100 for the second straight season, crossing the line in 51st place in a time of 16:50.4
Rounding out the Charger scoring was Cullen Decker in 177th place in 18:15.7; Cohen Burdick in 205th place in 18:44.3; Maddox Miller in 206th place in a time of 18:45.0; and Noah June in 214th place in a time of 18:50.8. Also representing Union City at the state finals was Malachi Payne in 225th place and Aidan Taylor in 244th place.
The team from Traverse City St. Francis won the team state championship with a score of 113 points, followed by St. Louis in second place with 175 points.
Pewamo-Westphalia senior Collin Farmer captured the individual state title, winning in a time of 15:39.1, followed by Reed City’s August Rohde who took second in a time of 15:51.9.
Division 4 State Finals
The Tekonsha Indians were represented by one individual runner in both the boy’s and girl's races in Division Four.
Representing Tekonsha in the boy's race was freshman Max Barron who crossed the line in 170th place in a time of 18:58.3.
In the girls race it was Tekonsha freshman Angel VeenKant who traversed the 3.1-mile course in a time of 23:52.3, giving her 201st place.
In the girl's portion of the state finals, it was Whitmore Lake who won the team state title with a score of 78 points, followed by Johannesburg-Lewiston in second place with 112 points.
Aidan Harrand of Buckley edged her way to the state title, winning in a time of 17:38.9 followed by Kaylie Livingston of Lake Whitmore who finished with runner-up honors in a time of 17:44.7.
The top of the podium in the boy's race had a bit of local flavor as it was Hillsdale Academy bringing home the Division 4 boys state title with a score of 129 points. Holland Calvary Christian took second place in the finals, edging Kalamazoo Hackett by one point, taking runner-up honors with 199 points.
The individual state title went to Marine City Cardinal Mooney senior Tyler Lenn who won in a time of 15:49.0 while Owen Patton of Vestaburg took second place in a time of 16:01.0.
Also bringing home MHSAA Team State titles was Northville in Division 1 and Forest Hills Eastern in Division 2 boy's competitions, while Romeo won the Division 1 girls title followed by Grand Rapids Christian standing atop the podium in Division 2.
For full results of all the races held at MIS this past weekend visit mhsaa.com or you can find the results at athletic.net.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Branch County well represented at MHSAA Cross Country state finals
