Glen Lake sophomore Spencer McNitt took first at the MHSAA D3 cross country regional Saturday at Benzie Central in 15:32.
“My game plan from the start was to stay comfortable until we got to that last mile, the last 1000 meters, and then really kick it from there. It was really tough to stay within myself,” McNitt said. “This is definitely a big confidence booster going into next weekend, and I’m just excited to see what we can do out there.”
McNitt broke the school record by two seconds, which Justin Kibbey had held since 1998.
(Spencer McNitt, Glen Lake)
The Lakers will head to states as a team Saturday, Nov. 7, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn after finishing second, behind Hart. This is the Lakers’ first time in recent memory competing at the D3 level after dominating the D4 circuit for several seasons.
“Moving up is always a challenge. I’ve coached D2-4 in my career, so it’s one of those things where you have to learn the landscape and adjust,” Glen Lake coach George Drown said. “I thought our boys handled that pretty well throughout the season. We got to go to a couple of meets this year that really challenged us.”
Glen Lake senior Abraham Feeney took third (15:39) in the tightly contested race. Feeney has been focused on the state championship competition Saturday after being injured at regionals last season and stormed to a 22-second personal record during the race.
“I’ve run this course since I was in sixth grade and it was great to have one more chance to run it as a senior. It didn’t go perfectly, but it was really a great race, and I think that I have so I have so much to be grateful for this senior year,” Feeney said.
“I think part of my motivation this whole season, and all of track season, has been running a strong race at states. It doesn’t have to be anything special, but just finishing my senior year and feeling proud of what I’ve accomplished,” Feeney said.
Christian Feeney and Lincoln Bailey both finished in the top-25 to round out the competition for the Lakers.
The Lakers will compete at state this weekend in D3 after finishing second overall at the D4 competition last season. Glen Lake has been ranked sixth and seventh throughout the season and will be shooting for a top-5 finish.
“We’re no slouch going into D3 this year, having only lost one of our top seven guys from last year’s team,” Drown said.
Ottenbacher qualifies
The Glen Lake girls cross country team finished fourth at regionals Saturday.
“The girls did everything they could to qualify … Unfortunately, the stars didn’t align,” Drown said. “After doing some research yesterday at the other D3 regions around the state. We’re the best team not to qualify. We are the 12th best team in the state, and they take 27. Sometimes regionals happen to turn out to be really, really steep.”
Glen Lake freshman Avyrie Ottenbacher led the pace with a seventh-place finish (19:10), and was the lone Laker to stamp her ticket to the state championships.
Glen Lake sophomore Autumn Bailey finished 22nd, followed by junior Carmella Julian (26th), Ellie Wright (28th), Alyse Cox (29th), Alayna Ottenbacher (32nd) and Monroe Miles (34th).
This regional race was as competitive as Drown has seen in his career, with eight of the top-14 qualifiers not in the top-4 finishing teams.
“Any other region we would have done (qualified), but this region happened to have a collection of good individuals from other schools, so it wasn’t going to be in the cards … We had a great day, but so did the other teams,” Drown said.
Comets run strong in D4
The Leland boys cross country team finished second and stamped their ticket to the state championships Saturday.
Leland junior Carter Suttman finished fifth overall, and Lake Leelanau St. Mary senior Daniel Chaney finished sixth; Leland’s Christopher Knudsen seventh, and Campbell Fedderman eighth. Holden Preneta finished 17th, and Jack Brugeman took 26th in a crucial spot for the Comets. Chase Denoyer finished 44th.
For the Eagles, Chaney finished sixth, followed by Ryan Tarsa in 50th, Andrew Grant (55th), Maitlan Joubran (570 and Michael Dunphrey (58th).
Suttons Bay junior Jack Truckey finished 32nd overall.
Mesick claimed the D4 regional championship, followed by Leland in second and Mason County Eastern in third to advance to the state championship. Grand Traverse Academy finished fourth, Buckley fifth, Onekama sixth, Bear Lake seventh, and Lake Leelanau St. Mary eighth.
Grinage leads area
In the girls’ race, Leland’s Sophie Grinage led the pace with a second-place finishing time of 19:02.
Natalie Burpee finished seventh as both advanced to the state championships. Leland junior Jaelyn DeFour finished 36th overall.
Lake Leelanau St. Mary’s eighth grader, Elena Meyer, led the team with a 16th-place finish.
The Eagles also saw solid contributions from Claire Couturier (26th), Mary Grant (34th), Marie Hobbins (35th), and Evelyn Joubran (37th). The Eagles finished fourth as a team.
Suttons Bay senior Zay TwoCrow finished 48th as the Norse’s lone runner.
