Girls take first, boys sixth

On Saturday, October 8t, the high school boys and girls cross country teams traveled to compete in the Portage Invitational. Even though the weather was unseasonably warm for cross country, the runners performed outstanding!
The girls team took home the first place trophy beating out East Grand Rapids and Dewitt, two teams ranked ahead of them in division 2 polls. Leading the Red Hawks were Kenzie Weiler (2nd), Katie Weiler (7th), Sommer Vandyke (28th), Michaela Burnett (65th), Maddie Pekrul (68th), Cailtin McClurken (82nd) and Christina Dean (137th) in the varsity race. In the girls reserved race, Kendahl Oberdorfer (9th) and Shayne Mann (41st) were medalist winners.  Allie Veltkamp, Emily Shaft and Abby VanDusen also finished the day with impressive races!  The girls team, currently undefeated in the OK Blue conference, will race again October 20 at the Conference finals where they hope to win the conference title for the third year in a row! Good Job Lady Hawks!!
In the boys race, the Red Hawks placed an impressive 6th place out of 39 teams. They are currently ranked 8th in the division 2 polls.  the Red Hawks was all state runner Connor Mora (2nd), followed by Aaron Brooks (31st), Justin Harthorn (58th), Austin Sargent (63rd), Alex Bray (66th), Ethan Menefee and Dan Zinn in the varsity race.  In the reserve race, Alex Sias took home a medal by finishing 33rd. Justin Jones, Pablo Castellanos, Dylan Finch and Logan McGahan all ran exceptionally well. The boys team will next compete at the OK Blue Conference Meet in Belding on October 20th. Good Job!!