Owosso cross country traveled to DeWitt for the Regional Finals meet on Friday afternoon! What a day it turned out to be. All of the rain that fell throughout the overnight and day created very sloppy course conditions. These conditions, coupled with a tough course, resulted in times that were significantly slower than normal times for all athletes competing today. Fortunately, times do not matter at Regionals. The top 3 teams and the next fastest 7 athletes not on those teams qualify to compete in the state finals on Saturday, November 6th. 

Going into the race, Owosso girls had been ranked anywhere between 4th and 8th in the region throughout the season and were currently seeded in 5th. Our girls worked hard all season long, determined to keep improving with many triumphs along the way.  Today, when it was all said and done, they tied for 3rd place with 117 points, but lost to Williamston in a tie breaker, which is determined by which team's 6th runner finishes first.  Unfortunately this puts the girls as close as possible, but just short of qualifying for the state meet as a team.  Josie Jenkinson, seeded to finish in 12th, had a killer race and finished all the way up in 5th. Libby Summerland improved 2 places with her finish in 18th. Julionna West's 20th place was 3 places higher than expected. Emma Johnson finished right on her 35th place seed. Claire Agnew very impressively cut 14 full places off of her seed with a 39th place finish, and Brieanna Wood another 7 off of hers as she came in 51st.  Great job on an amazing season Ladies! With all 6 girls returning next season along with a few runners joining that we are excited about, we will look to make serious waves. The future in bright!

Even though the team didn't qualify for the state meet next weekend, Josie Jenkinson with a time of 20:06 and Libby Summerland with a time of 21:09 QUALIFIED as individuals for the state meet. They have shown grit and determination to get here! We are so proud of them!  The XC team will be traveling to Michigan International Speedway next weekend to cheer them on! Congratulations girls!

The boys placed 12th in the region. Senior captain Jack Smith capped of an amazing season with a 29th place finish, 8 places ahead of where he was anticipated to finish. Co-captain Corey Gates came in 68th, Sam Perry 76th, Zachary Wieler 80th (3 places better than expected), Charlie Agnew 83rd (2 places better than his seed), and Charlie Nolph 94th. The boys have shown dedication to setting many personal records. Great Job Guys! Like the girls, our boys team was a young team this season. In fact, with only one senior graduating and some 8th graders set to join us next year, our boys will look to continue to improve as well.

This leaves Jack Smith, our only senior runner this year. Losing runners is always hard, but losing Jack is harder than most. Jack has been a part of the cross country program since middle school. He has been an amazing team leader by modeling commitment and a positive attitude to the sport and will be missed terribly!  He has given his teammates many pep talks motivating them to do their best, and has been an example of success to all of our younger athletes!  Thank you for all of the years and all of the memories Jack!

Full results can be found at:

https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/193145?utm_source=anet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=xcresultsposted