By Jim Newell

Leader Special Writer

The Oxford girls cross country team dominated the field at the OAA Red Cross Country Championship on Thursday, placing three runners in the top five to secure the win.

The boys team finished second overall in the 5K race at Clintonwood Park in Independence Township.

Both teams will next compete in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Lower Peninsula Division 1, Region 8-1 on Saturday at Hess Hathaway Park in Waterford Township.

The Oxford girls have dominated the OAA Red for the past two years, continually placing multiple runners in the top 10.

Sophomore Mallory Bigelow finished second overall at 18:29.6 minutes, less than five seconds behind Clarkston’s Alexandra Brigham. Bigelow and Brigham ran neck-and-neck for much of the race, with Brigham pulling ahead in the final few hundred meters of the race.

Sophomore Taylor Brodeur (19 minutes) finished third and junior Braydee Elling (19:06.9) finished fifth for the Wildcats, just behind Amanda Soldan of Rochester Adams.

Oxford sophomore Jamie Patterson finished in 10th place overall at 19:58.4, and junior Aubrey Mery (20:01.1) finished 13^th for the Wildcats.

Oxford finished with a score of 33, easily defeating second place Troy at 60 points.

Clarkston was third with 71 points, Rochester Adams was fourth with 81 points, Lake Orion was fifth with 117 points and Birmingham Seaholm finished sixth at 163.

Oxford Boys Cross Country

Clarkston won the OAA Red Cross Country Championship with 31 points, with the Wildcats taking second place edging out Troy High School in a tiebreaker. Both teams finished with 64 points.

Rochester Adams was fourth, 90 points; Lake Orion was fifth, 94 points; and Birmingham Seaholm finished last with 164 points.

Sophomore Alex McArthur was the top Wildcat on the course, finishing in fourth place overall at 16:22.3 minutes. Sophomore James Cusick was sixth place, finishing in 16:26.4 minutes.

Also scoring for the Wildcats were sophomore Max Myrand (16:44.9, 16^th place), senior Xavier Clark (16:48.8, 17^th place) and senior Kyle DiMalanta (17:04, 21^st place).