Sports
Owosso sisters qualify for state cross country finals
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Tuesday, November 3, 2009 9:55 AM EST
BAY CITY - The Owosso girls were hoping to qualify for the state cross country finals as a team.
Unfortunately for the Trojans, they came up one point shy of that.
But Trojan sisters Claire Gilbert and Chloe Gilbert each qualified individually for the state finals at MIS next weekend.
Kieran McClintock battled through sickness to also qualify as an individual for the Trojan boys.
Corunna's Marissa Schneider and Matt McNeill also qualified for the Division 2 finals with their performances Saturday at Delta College.
The top three teams at the regionals automatically earned berths to the state meet. In addition, the top 15 individuals earn the right to advance to the finals.
The Owosso girls were fourth with 114 points. Lapeer East was third with 113. Flint Powers was first with 56 and Mt. Pleasant ran second with 81.
“It was a waiting game,” said Owosso coach Chris Bird. “The girls were right on the fringe.”
Claire Gilbert, just a freshman, ran second overall in 19 minutes, 53 seconds. Her older sister Chloe ran third in 19:57 to make the states for the third straight year.
Corunna's Schneider ran fourth to qualify for states.
“For the last half mile, Chloe ran with one shoe on and one shoe off,” said Bird. “They had to run through two huge mud puddles.”
Joyce Westbrook was 24th for the Trojans in 21:48. She was followed by teammates Monica Bird, 35th, 22:27; Shiloh McGeehan, 54th, 24:14; Aubrey Minarik, 55th, 24:25; and Abbey Newbury, 66th, 25:48.
No additional information on Corunna's finishers was available at press time.
McClintock ran ninth on Saturday to clinch his second straight state berth in 17:30.
“Our team has been hit by the flu bug pretty hard and he is still recovering from sickness,” said Bird. “He was looking for a top 3 finish today.”
Corunna's Matt McNeill ran fifth in 17:13.
The Cavaliers ran fourth overall with 115 points.
Owosso was seventh with 196. Flint Powers (31), Alma (58) and Ogemaw Heights (98) filled the top three positions.
Owosso's other runners included Zach Paez, 35th in 18:27; Eli Jenkinson 44th in 18:55; Matt Opanasenko, 54th in 19:11; Tyler Drake, 61st, 19:48; Mitch Opanasenko, 64th, 19:51; and Kyle Messman, 66th, 20:04.