The boys and girls of LOHS cross country are having another successful season.
The runners braved the chilly weather of Oct. 12 to run in the Oxford invitational, where the boys in green took second place, beating their 2012 rivals: Walled Lake Central. The girls took fourth, but had a number of individual medals.
‘Senior T.J Carey had a relaly nice run – he got first and had a good fast time,? said Head Coach Stan Ford. ‘Senior David Arnz and junior Zach Seilkop passed two Walled Lake Northern runners in the last 100 meters of the race, and that’s a big point swing for us, with two more points for them and two less points for us. It’s those little things like that that make a big difference for us.?
Ford pointed to runners he was particularly impressed with, including Arnz who is running for the first time as part of the cross country team in his senior year. He said Arnz is learning to run the long distances and that it’s shown in his performance. Meanwhile, Seilkop has begun to catch up with Arnz, which tightened the scoring up for the whole team.
Scores at cross country meets are tallied based on where a runner places. First place gets one point, second gets two and so forth. Teams practice having a tight running pack, because it cuts down on highly disparate scoring. A first place runner can still have teammates that finish in the thirties, so keeping the pack close is important.
‘Our freshman Andrew Lorrant had a nice day too and he’s getting to be very consistent, which doesn’t always happen with ninth graders. He’s still got some adjustments to make but he’s really helped us out,? said Ford.
‘Junior Ted Reidquist also had a nice run and that makes us even stronger. Our depth in that area, with all the running doing a good job, makes us tougher. They’re finishing with a tight pack and that’s good for a fair course like Oxford where there are a lot of hills.?
The boys are in first place in the OAA Red Division.
The girls, meanwhile, earned individual medals, starting with sophomore Danielle Carr, who finished tenth overall. Following her were sophomore Erin Womack in 18th, freshman Emily Fluent in 25th, junior Casey Stribbell in 31st and junior Anna Dietz in 33rd.
The teams will compete again this Thursday at Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills for the OAA League Meet.