Therrien takes 4th, Wynsma 7th at state championships.

GLEN LAKE runners (from left) freshman Bonnie Ricord,
junior Nadine Gilmer and senior Amber Therrien were the top
three Laker finishers at both the Regional meet on Oct. 27
and the state championships Saturday. Therrien also earned
All-State recognition for finishing fourth the in the Division
4 race.

Throughout the cross country season this fall, Amber Therrien of Glen Lake and Ben Wynsma of Suttons Bay have stood out as Leelanau County’s fastest prep runners.

Their consistency and steady improvement throughout the season was rewarded Saturday when both received All-State honors for their top finishes at the Division 4 state championships. Therrien was fourth overall in the girls’ race, while Wynsma took seventh in the boys’ race. Potterville’s boys’ team and Grand Rapids

Northpointe Christian’s girls’ squad won the Division 4 state team championships.

For Therrien, Saturday’s success at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn represented the second straight year she has made All-State. She was clocked in 19:00, 31 seconds behind overall winner Lindsay Neal of North Muskegon. Glen Lake coach Pete Edwards said Therrien bettered her time from last year’s state meet on the same course by a full minute.

“Finishing fourth, improving her time and being a repeat All-State athlete is pretty special,” Glen Lake coach Pete Edwards of the senior. “These are super talented student-athletes and we are really, really proud of them.”

Therrien’s teammate Nadine Gilmer ran her fastest-ever 5K time, and just missed All-State honors. She finished 36th in the race in 20:20; the top 30 runners in each division received All-State recognition.

“She is only a junior and will be a contender for All-State next year,” said Edwards of Gilmer, who was also named to the Academic All-State team. “We were also running four freshmen, which is a good sign for the future of Glen Lake cross country.”

The next runners across the finish line for the Lakers included freshman Bonnie Ricord; freshman Alicia Glazier, who improved her Regional time from a week ago by 28 seconds; freshman Abbie Clark; junior Maura Niemisto; and freshman Karoline Griffard.

Wynsma posted the third-fastest time among northern Michigan runners enroute to his seventh-place finish in 16:22 in the 245-runner field. The week before, the Norsemen sophomore won the Regional crown by 16 seconds at Benzie Central.

“Ben ran a real intelligent race, finished 27 seconds better than his personal best, and did about as well as we could have expected him to do,” said Norsemen coach Mark Smith. “He’s worked hard and has the potential to improve even more. We’ll see where that takes him in the future.”

Sophomore Juan Reyes (148th in 18:14) was the second Norse runner to finish. He was followed by teammates Chase Palmer (18:36), Sawyer Lawler (19:19), Tom Pritz (19:29), Travis Smith (19:41) and Marco Brambini (22:04).

Smith admitted that the size of the race, and its location at a major car racing speedway, was a little intimidating.

“It was a great accomplishment to get to states, but a little overwhelming down there with that huge complex and all those runners,” Smith said. “But we had a blast, and it was good for the kids to realize what it will take to get back to states next year.”

The only other county runner to compete in the race was Breanna Korson of St. Mary, who finished 81st in a field of 254.

“Competing against the best of the best, Breanna ran a very smart race in a very crowded field,” said Eagles coach Karen Kirt. “She passed eight or nine girls in the final 800 meters, and that got her into the top third of the field. She should be very proud of how she ran.”