Owosso opened the season on Friday night at the St. Johns Under the Lights Cross Country Invitational. The girls race began at 9:30PM, while the boys didn't run until 10:30PM. This meet is a perfect way to kick off the season. After an absolutely killer summer of training, our athletes were able to celebrate the start of the season by getting decked out in glow gear and racing in the dark. Everyone had a ton of fun and showed off all of their hard work. 

There were 11 teams in our division with the top 20 individuals earning medals. Our girls finished with 3 medalists, a fourth missing by just 1 place, and a 2nd place overall finish! Freshman Josie Jenkinson lead the way with an impressive 3rd place finish (21:02). Libby Summerland picked up where she left off last year with a 7th place result (21:40). A much stronger Emma Johnson showed off her new stride by finishing 13th (22:13). Freshman Onna West missed a medal by just 2 seconds in her first high school race by finishing 21st (22:47). Finally, former volleyball player Claire Agnew showed just how good of an athlete she is by finishing 36th in her first ever cross country race (24:38).

Our boys finished 8th, but also had great results. Senior Jack Smith set a personal record time and earned a 16th place medal (18:52). Corey Gates also had a personal best time, earning a 25th place finish (19:49). Joining the team earlier in the week, Richard Stuart was able to finish 3rd on the team and 50th overall (22:47). Freshman Charlie Agnew kicked off his high school running career by finishing 52nd (23:06). Zach Wieler finished just 2 places behind Charlie (23:19), and freshman Charlie Nolph rounded out the boys with a 65th place finish (26:22).

I would also like to welcome Coach Crandell as our new boys' xc coach. She is a great runner and role model and brings a lot to the team. We couldn't be happier with our athletes results tonight and are excited to watch them grow throughout the season.