BY WENDI REARDON
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Natalie Smith kept her pace on the trail at Springfield Oaks and finished at the Holly Invitational in fourth place.
Her finish helped the Girls Varsity Cross Country team take the fifth spot at the race, behind Ann Arbor, Lakeland, Hartland and Waterford Mott.
‘We did okay,? said Girls Cross Country Assistant Coach Matt Klaver. ‘We are getting ready to make a big push and we took a step in the right direction.?
Erin Billette set a personal record finishing 20:57.
‘Lindsey Fantin ran a good race (21:06),? he added. ‘Natalie had a good run.?
The four remaining finishers for the team were Mende Gleiss (21:19), Colleen Napier (21:28), Abby Harrison (22:22) and Annie Castillo (22:36).
On Sept. 15, the girls took third place in the OAA Jamboree #1. Smith led the Wolfpack and finished in seventh.
‘We are starting to add speed work into our practices so we are going to start dropping our times pretty soon,? said Klaver. ‘We are poised to make a jump. They have been working really hard in practice.?
The girls compete in the Jackson Invite this Saturday.
‘We should be pretty competitive,? Klaver added.
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Adam Bruderick led the boys team in their seventh place spot at the Holly Invitational.
‘We didn’t run poorly,? said Boys Coach Mike Taylor. ‘Or real well. We were somewhere in the middle. It was our third race in a week and we ran a little flat.?
The boys set their goal to finish in fourth or better.
‘It was a real tough field,? said Taylor. ‘But we will bounce back – it’s only September.?
They finished behind Lake Orion and Milford – two teams they know they have to get past them in regionals to go to states and have to do it at the same location.
‘We just have to do a better job,? said Taylor.
More top finishers at Holly were Eric Nordquist (17:32), Branton Dennis (17:47), Aaron Butoro (17:47), Daniel Byrne (17:51) and Michael Inch (18:04).
The boys took second place in the OAA Jamboree #1 on September 15 and are second in the league behind Troy. Christian Bonzheim finished in tenth at 17:20.
The boys have a week off until they run in the OAA Jamboree #2 next Tuesday.
The JV runners competed in Chesaning and finished third against seven schools. Walled Lake Northern and Ann Arbor Huron took the top spots. Taylor noted they did well considering most schools took their varsity runners.