The Clarkston varsity girls cross country program is not like other teams across the state.
For other programs, winning the Michigan State University Invitational on Sept. 16 would be a coming out party ? for Clarkston, the victory featuring three runners in the top ten was business as usual.
‘We ran really well at MSU,? said Clarkston Coach Jamie LaBrosse. ‘This is the fourth year in a row we have won it.?
At the MSU invite, which featured strong competition from around the state, Clarkston finished with 93 points. Saline’s runners were second in the standing with 126 points followed by Rockford with 143.
Senior Jenny Morgan led Clarkston and the field, finishing in first with a time of 18:13. Morgan’s younger sister, freshman Stephanie, finished in fourth place with a time of 18:29. Another integral element of Clarkston’s dominance at MSU was senior Lyndsay Smith’s time of 18:46, good for ninth overall. Senior Lisa Sickman (27th) and junior Jenna Leach (52nd) finished out the scoring for Clarkston.
A first place finish at MSU would be more than enough to sate most programs competitive appetite, but with a dearth of varsity level runners, LaBrosse had his eyes on two weekend titles. Clarkston’s B team took part in the Holly Invitational on Sept. 17 running against other school’s varsity squads.
‘The point of the meet was to give (the B team) experience. Our team is better now with them having run at Holly,? said LaBrosse.
The B team managed an eighth place finish with a score of 191. Standing out for the Wolves was freshman Kristen Smith, who finished seventh overall with a time of 20:12. Freshman Angela Haight (31st) and sophomore Rachel Blenc (36th) were medalists for the Wolves.
With Clarkston chasing their third straight State championship, the team has set the bar higher than the programs running against them in the OAA Division I this year.
For example, most teams in the state would not view their first inter-league action of the year as a ‘training day,? as LaBrosse referred to the tri-meet on Sept. 20 with Seaholm and Rochester High. LaBrosse’s confidence in regard to the tri-meet, which finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News, is based on the hard work his team put in over the summer.
‘The hard part of the season is over. We’ve done all the work to get in shape,? said LaBrosse.
Clarkston’s next action is Sept. 24 at the Jackson invite, another meet featuring top teams in the state, like Saline.
?(Saline) is a tough team and they are looking for us. We have a little bit of a target on our backs,? said LaBrosse.