Lake Orion’s boy harriers finished their season on a high note Nov. 5, finishing eleventh out of 28 in the state competition.
Among the teams left in their dust were Clarkston and Romeo, who less than a week earlier took second and first at the regional, leaving the Dragons in third place.
Head Coach Stan Ford called the placement and the victory over the two regional schools an indicator of how good his kids ran.
‘All of the guys ran personal bests by a long shot, which is really nice and the competiton always makes these guys run well,? he said. ‘The guys were really excited – they knew they beat a lot of people – it was just a really good day. All seven of my top runners really brought it together. Looking back, we had a very good OAA League Meet, but this was definitely our best event of the year.?
Individually, junior T.J. Carey placed fourth out of 249 runners, while sophomore David Diaz finished twentieth. Both were awarded All-State honors. Prior to 2011, Carey finished in twenty-fifth place both his freshman and sophomore years. Ford noted Carey is getting better every year.
Looking forward to the 2012 season, Ford said while returning Carey, Diaz and junior Jacob Houlihan will help, the loss of seniors Ryan Singles, Justin Prawdzik, Aaron Kaufman and George Modrak will hurt.
‘I’ve got some good young kids to come up like sophomores Ted Rydquist, Zach Seilkop and junior Tom Connolly,? said Ford. ‘These guys are capable of filling in our losses from graduation, but the seniors I’m losing worked worked extremely hard to get where they’re at. If these new guys think they just get in because there are spots now, we’re going to be in a lot of trouble. Relying on Carey and Diaz alone will not improve us much.
‘Even if Carey takes first next year, that’s only an extra three points toward our place. The other five guys coming up will be the biggest difference, and how we do next year will be based on how hard they work.?