Austin Sargent finished second in the state in the Division 2 boys cross country finals last weekend.

Kenzie Weiler finished second in the state in the Division 2 girls cross country finals last weekend.

Runners Kenzie Weiler and Austin Sargent both finish second in state

Kenzie Weiler (defending State Champion in Division 2) led her team to a great finale by finishing second place overall in the State Finals held at Michigan International Speedway Saturday Nov. 1. Kenzie finished her high school cross country career by running in the State Finals all four years and finishing 2nd, 2nd, 1st and this year 2nd.

“She has proven to be one of the state’s best all-time runners in history,” said Coach Marie Covey.

The remaining lady Red Hawk runners also ran well. Ellie Ovokaitys (42nd), Tara Tepin (135th), and Hannah Heinzelman (136th) all ran their personal records. Remaining team members Shayne Mann (63rd), Allyson Marvel (195th), and Myla Umphrey (210th) ran close to their best races of the season in a field of 248 of the best runners in the state. “I’m so proud of how hard this entire team worked all season,” said Coach Covey, “I was hoping for top ten after finishing 15th last year. It was a great day to be a Red Hawk.”

The girls weren’t the only runners from Cedar Springs in the highlights. Austin Sargent (the defending boys State Champion in Division 2) had a great race on the cold windy day at the State Finals. He ran just one second off his personal record with a time of 15:42 and finished runner-up.