By Jim Newell
Review Staff Writer
For a coach, nothing can beat having an experienced team of seasoned veterans who know your program and training regimen. But youth and enthusiasm can make up for a lot.
A young Lake Orion High School girls’ varsity cross country team competed in the first jamboree of the season on Sept. 12 at Lake Orion High School, finishing fourth out of seven teams.
Coach Debi McDonald sees this finish as a good sign for the team, pointing out that the scores between the top four teams were grouped close together, which has not always been the case previously.
“(Birmingham) Seaholm has dominated in the past,” she said. “This meet the scores were close between all four teams. This early on in the season, teams can get stronger.”
The team also took second place at Oakland University on Sept. 2, and fifth place on Sept. 10 at the Averill Invitational.
“Training has been really good. There are a lot of young girls on the team. Most of the team is made up of ninth and tenth graders,” McDonald said.
McDonald said that during the preseason and early meets the girls have shown a willingness to train and improve, but the challenge is getting everyone on the same page and teaching the girls how to run consistently to the demands of cross country without injuring themselves.
“With so many young girls, they don’t know my workouts,” McDonald said. “My hope is we stay healthy the whole season and we get stronger every week.”
The team’s youth could also be promising for the future: there are 40 girls on the team, 28 of whom are freshman or sophomores, McDonald said.
Sophomore Alisa Sherman is one of the standouts in the season, so far, but not without competition.
“She’s been our front runner,” McDonald said, adding that there are two ninth-graders “right at her heels, basically.”
Other standouts include Sophomores Olivia Aims and Lindsey Thelen and Freshman Emily Leipold and Marisa O’leary.
“Our top 10 runners all range pretty close together as far as their abilities,” McDonald said. “There’s good camaraderie among them. Their focus is refreshing.”
Winning the league is always the top priority, and McDonald hopes the team can qualify for the state tournament at the end of the season.
“As long as we can stay healthy, at most of our meets we should be in the top five,” she said. “I’m just really excited this year. It’s kind of a surprise how the season will come out.”
The next cross country invitational is 4:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at Anchor Bay High School, and then a jamboree beginning at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at Stoney Creek Metro Park.