The question marks piled up around the Clarkston girls cross country team’s bid for a third straight state title prior to the MHSAA Division I championship race on Nov. 5 at the Michigan International Speedway.
With the rest of the state catching up in terms of talent, a lead runner in senior Jenny Morgan, who by her own admission was less than 100 percent, and a state finals veteran in senior Lisa Sickman, inactive because of a leg injury, many thought 2005 would mark the end of the Wolves? dynasty rule over girls cross country.
Even 15 minutes after Clarkston’s last runner crossed the finish line the team sat tentatively awaiting the results.
‘When I finished, I thought for sure we had lost,? said freshman Kristin Smith, who finished fourth on the team and 42nd overall.
‘We all came back to the tent and we didn’t know what the results were going to be,? said senior Lyndsay Smith, who finished third on the team and 23rd overall.
The girls knew they had run a good race, but with the premature celebration of other teams all around them, the final standings were in doubt. But, upon spying Coach Jamie LaBrosse heading their way, ‘Three straight state championships?? became ‘Three straight state championships!?
‘As soon as we saw him running toward us with a smile on his face we knew we had won,? said Lyndsay Smith.
With 123 points, Clarkston won their third straight state championship. Okemos finished in second with 138 and Rockford in third with 140.
‘This year was the toughest with the pressure of three-peating, everyone kind of doubting us and saying this was the year we were going to falter,? LaBrosse said. ‘I told the girls before the race began ‘We don’t have to be done now. This doesn’t have to be it.? Right when I walked away, I knew they were going to run well.?
Clarkston’s perceived vulnerability had much to do with Sickman’s injury and Jenny Morgan’s recent struggles with a lung illness. Morgan was pulled from the regional finals race by LaBrosse on Oct. 29 with the team safely in the lead.
‘The state meet was the first time in a month Jenny ran an entire 5K,? said LaBrosse. ?(The state meet) wasn’t one of her best runs ever, but it was her gutsiest.?
‘That was my last high school race ever. I didn’t care what I was going through,? said Morgan, who won her second state championship with the Wolves. ‘Every year the state championship has been our goal. We didn’t run a perfect race, but we ran a solid race and it won us a state championship.?
Morgan finished fourth overall with a time of 17:54. Following close behind her younger sister, freshman Stephanie Morgan helped the Wolves? cause a great deal with a sixth overall finish.
‘Everything pretty much went wrong for (Jenny) this year,? said Stephanie Morgan, who filled the void her sister left over the past month, finishing first overall at regionals.
‘I’m still proud of what I did as a freshman,? Stephanie Morgan said.
While Sickman could not contribute to the Wolves championship bid as she had in years past, her presence on the sidelines helped spur her teammates on to victory.
‘We were ready to do it, especially having Lisa there. I think this was my favorite of the three (state titles) because of how close it was,? said junior Jenna Leach, who was Clarkston’s fifth runner and finished 48th overall.
‘It’s kind of unbelievable. I never really thought about being a state champion three years in a row,? said Lyndsay Smith, who as a freshman was part of the last Clarkston team that did not win the state championship. Clarkston was runner-up to Rockford in 2002.
The pressure of completing their three-peat affected the Wolves. A team which is usually jovial and upbeat at the start line was somber and focused prior to their run at MIS.
‘It was a very serious mood. We were deep in thought,? Jenny Morgan said.
‘We had our game faces on, as coach would say,? said Lyndsay Smith.
The enormity of the state finals was not lost on the Wolves either.
‘This race scared me really bad. I had never run with that many girls before. For the first mile it was like being in a swarm of bees. All the girls are bunched around you and if you slowed down you’d get trampled,? said Kristen Smith.
Also running for the Wolves in the field of 238 runners were Beth Hoekstra who finished 90th overall and Rachel Blenc who finished 109th.