Going into the Bath Invitational Sept. 6, Goodrich coach John Shaw knew the Martians girls cross country team would face some tough competition.
After all, the Martians were going up against teams such as Hillsdale, the defending Division 3 state champion, and Williamston, who finished fourth in Division 3 last year.
However, Goodrich proved its worth at the invite, taking first place in Division 2 with 37 points. The Martians easily defeated second-place Hillsdale (55 points) and third-place Williamston (93 points).
Going into this season, Hillsdale was returning all but one of its runners from last year, while Williamston returned all its runners.
“Hillsdale and Williamston were picked to finish one-two in the state in the scouting report I received,” Shaw said. “We managed to surprise some people, I guess.”
Goodrich freshman twins Kayla and Kaitlin O’Mara finished second and third at the invite, trailing only defending state champion Nicole Bush of Wyoming, who won the race in 18:12. Kayla finished with a time of 18:42 and Kaitlin finished in 19:01.
Other Goodrich competitors were Janee Jones (fourth, 19:06), Samantha Minkler (11th, 20:54), Kelsey Meyers (17th, 21:35), Natalie Cook (32nd, 22:35) and Molly Downer (49th, 23:26).
The Martians competed in the Holly Invitational Sept. 13. Their next meet is Sept. 16, when they take on Bentley and Lakeville at 4:30 p.m.