Cross country runners (from left) J.J. Bagans, Zachariah Smith, Ulises Rodriguez, Scott Masterson, Coach Richmond, Coach Petersimes, Simon Arnold, Hunter Green, Dominic Bruce and Adam Zyrowski. Photo by Heather Smith.

By Heather Smith

Correspondent

The Oxford varsity boys cross country team can call themselves league champions for the first time in 14 years.

On Thursday, October 19 the cross country teams competed in the OAA Red Division Championships at Clintonwood Park in Clarkston.

The boys entered the meet with great expectations as earlier this season they captured the win at the first and second league meets.

Not only did they rise as victors but they did so in resounding fashion earning first with 50 points. The top five scoring runners from Oxford all placed in the top 15, earning them individual honors as All League Champions. Senior Dominic Bruce (15:56) placed 3rd breaking 16 minutes for the first time, junior Hunter Green (16:27) placed 9th, senior Ulises Rodriguez (16:28) placed 10th, junior JJ Bagans (16:44) placed 13th and senior Zachariah Smith (16:54) placed 15th. Rounding out the squad of eight were junior Adam Zyrowski (17:19) placing 27th, sophomore Scott Masterson (17:38) placing 35th and sophomore Simon Arnold (17:52) placing 42nd. All eight of the boys ran personal bests, some by as much as 40 seconds!

Assistant Coach Don Richmond remarked, “It is the culmination of a lot of hard work and wanting it. Really it’s the result of their effort all season long as well as in previous seasons. It has taken a lot of hard work for many runners and coaches over several seasons to get here. They just kept fighting even when they were nowhere near getting a championship the last couple of years.”

The Oxford cross country teams have not won a league championship since they joined the OAA league at its inception in 2009. While they won regionals in 2013, a league championship has been elusive since 2003 when they were part of the Flint Metro League and Coach Richmond’s son, Donnie, now a runner for Playmakers, was running for the Oxford High School team.

The JV boys team also had some awesome finishes, taking second as a team with 70 points, losing to the Lake Orion Dragons who had 39 points. Senior Jacob Garland (17:34) placed first while sophomore Zach Allion (17:39) took third both breaking their personal records by more than a minute. Junior Shane Moore (17:56) took sixth, senior Joe Legault (18:29) placed 20th and senior Peter Bagans (19:11) placed 53rd.

The Oxford varsity girls team placed fifth with 137 points behind Troy (31 points), Clarkston (62), Lake Orion (77) and Seaholm (103). Juniors Molly Long (19:53) and Kerstin Hufstedler (19:53) shared the finish line taking 23rd and 24th place respectively. Sophomore Paige Miller (20:12) took 30th place with fellow sophomore Maddie Lukens (20:19) coming right behind in 31st place. Senior Bridget Cusick (20:26) in 34th, freshman Emma Long (20:57) in 43rd, senior Ashley Vican (21:05) in 34th, and sophomore Sarah Tyrrell (21:10) in 46th rounded out the Varsity team.

The JV girls team were led by sophomore Aleah Dymond (21:10) and freshman Ellie DiMalanta (21:22) who placed in fifth and ninth places respectively. The team finished 3rd (75 points) after Rochester Adams (46 points) and Troy (60 points). Sophomore Rachel Whitt (21:28) crossed the line in 12th position while fellow sophomore Antonia Vackaro (21:55) and senior Molly Gibbons (22:11) finished in 22nd and 28th place, respectively.

While the flat fast course in Clarkston produced many personal bests, the coveted coaches’ “O’s” were bestowed on Zachariah Smith and Kerstin Hufstedler for outstanding contributions to the Oxford team. The cross country teams look forward to running regionals at Algonac High School Oct. 28.