Senior Mallory Bigelow wins the girls race
By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
ORION TWP. — The Oxford boys varsity cross country team finished third at the OAA Red Jamboree I at Lake Orion High School on Sept. 11, while the girls varsity team finished in fourth place.
The Wildcats also took the top two spots in the girls race, with senior Mallory Bigelow winning the race and senior Taylor Brodeur coming in second.
Oxford boys cross country
Oxford finished third with 70 points at the OAA Red Jamboree I. Clarkston was first with a score of 35, Lake Orion second at 55 points, Troy was fourth at 71 points, Rochester Adams scored 136 and Seaholm had 173.
Senior James Cusick finished fourth overall with a time of 16:42.6 minutes in the 5k race. Senior Maxton Myrand was sixth overall with a time of 16:49.3 minutes. Junior Cayden Canham was 18th overall with a time of 17.44.4 minutes. Senior Jack Dysarz was 20th with a time of 17.48.4 minutes. Junior Carter Jacobsen was 22nd overall with a time of 17:57.9 minutes.
The team’s next race is Sept. 24 at Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills. The meet begins at 4:30 p.m. but the race order has yet to be determined.
We’re doing well. We’ve had a couple of injuries and we share an athlete with soccer so we haven’t had our full complement of varsity people out there yet, but I’m very happy with the improvements the kids have made so far this year,” said coach Norm Petersimes.
The team won the Woodhaven Warrior Classic at the Lake Erie Metro Park on Sept. 6, beating 12 other teams to take the title. Seniors Alexander McArthur and James Cusick finished first and second, respectively, junior Cayden Canham finished seventh, senior Jack Sysarz came in ninth and junior Carter Jacobsen was 13th.
“We’re the defending Oakland County champions so that’s a goal of ours, to try and defend that,” Petersimes said. “League championship, qualifying for the state at regionals, finishing in the top three would also be goals for us.”
“Our top three boys are particularly strong,” Petersimes said. “Our four and five (runners) are also improving. Alex McArthur is a senior. He’s our school record holder in cross country. James Cusick, another senior, is strong. He’s ran 16:20. And we have Maxton Myrand who has also ran about that same time as well.”
While many people may think of cross country as an individual sport, having runners finish close to the top of the “pack” means more team points, so the four-five-and six place runners are important for the team scores. Petersimes said Canham, Dysarz and Jacobsen will also have strong finishes for the Wildcats.
“Cayden Canham, he set a personal record already last week. It’s early in the season to do that. Jack Dysarz is another one of your strong runners and Carter Jacobsen as well. The closer we get to having those four-five-six runners to the one-two-three runners the better we’ll do,” Petersimes said. “What I’m looking for in these early-season meets – because we are a little tired and sore because we’ve trained so much – is that we’re focusing on passing in that third mile. That’s really what I want to see today, not going out to quick (from the start), and then passing people in the end.”
Oxford girls cross country
Oxford finished fourth in the six-team OAA Red Jamboree 1 meet with 83 points. Rochester Adams won the meet with 48 points, followed by Clarkston, 50 points, Troy with 74 points, Oxford, Seaholm with 101 points and Lake Orion, 130 points.
Oxford senior Mallory Bigelow ran far ahead of the pack, winning the race in a time of 19:16.2 minutes. Senior Taylor Brodeur was second overall with a time of 20:01.5 minutes. Senior Rebecca Secord was 24th with a time of 22:09.7; senior Jamie Patterson was 26th, finishing in 22:27.2 minutes; and freshman Sienna Chapin finished 30th in 22:24.3 minutes.
The team’s next race is Sept. 24 at Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills. The meet begins at 4:30 p.m. but the race order has yet to be determined.