Oxford junior Mallory Bigelow finished second overall in regionals on Friday. Photo by Wendi Reardon Price.

Boys team finishes in third place

By Wendi Reardon Price
Sports Writer
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — The Oxford Girls Cross Country won their third consecutive MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Region 8 title at Clintonwood Park last Friday.
“The past two seasons have been very successful,” said Sarah Canham, coach for the girls team heading into the regional meet. “We had all of these girls returning so I was hoping for just as much success this year as last year in hopes to move up to the state meet again.”
She noted they would be looking out for Rochester, Clarkston and Utica.
“Rochester Adams could even sneak in there,” Canham said. “There definitely will be some competition.”
The Wildcats finished with 56 points and had all seven runners finish in the top 35.
Junior Mallory Bigelow led the way finishing in second place in the time of 18:36.20. Senior Braydee Elling finished in fourth place in the time of 19:11.3; junior Taylor Brodeur, seventh, 19:38.2; senior Aubrey Mery, 21st, 20:27.6; junior Jamie Patterson, 22nd, 20:34.1; sophomore Camryn Quidort, 32nd, 20:54.4; and sophomore Laila Bodell, 33rd, 20:55.

Finishing in the top three and joining Oxford at the state championship this Saturday are Clarkston, who finished in second place with 70 points; and Rochester, third with 81 points.
The Oxford Boys Cross Country also heads to the state championship after finishing in third place at the regional meet with 80 points.
Finishing in the top 30 were: junior Alexander McArthur in fourth place in the time of 15:59; junior James Cusick, 16th, senior Lucas Ames, 18th, 16:33.5; senior Cass Feeney, 19th, 16:34.2; and junior Max Myrand, 23rd, 16:45.2.
Troy claimed the regional title with 71 points and Clarkston finished in second place with 75 points.
The girls team sealed the OAA Red League title with a first place finish in the third and final jamboree at Clintonwood Park last Thursday.
“I was very happy,” said Canham. “They did what I was hoping they were going to do at the time. I am super proud of these girls. They put their hearts into these workouts and they show up. They are ready. I am excited to see what happens and what they can accomplish.”
The Wildcats scored 40 points with all eight runners finishing in the top 30, with three in the top ten.
Bigelow and Elling not only finished in the top two places but broke their previous school records.
Bigelow finished in first place in the time of 18:17.9; and Elling, second, 18:40.4;
Brodeur, eighth, 19:32.6; Patterson, 14th, 20:00.5; Bodell, 15th, 20:00.7; senior Aubrey Mery, 19th, 20:09.9; junior Rebecca Secord, 22nd, 20:25.8; and Quidort, 27th, 20:45.
“My four, five and six was a really nice pack,” Canham noted. “In fact, I had a senior just returning from an injury who did very well. We didn’t know what was going to happen with her. She was right in the mix so it was very exciting.”
Clarkston finished in second place with 49 points; Rochester Adams, third, 72; Lake Orion, fourth, 83; Troy, fifth, 115; Birmingham Seaholm, sixth, 140.
The boys varsity team finished in third place with 68 points with four runners finishing in the top 30.
McArthur finished in second place in the time of 15:34.4; Cusick, ninth, 16:22.9; Ames, 11th, 16:23.7; and senior Feeney, 17th, 16:43.6.
Clarkston finished in first place with 39 points; Troy, second, 43; Lake Orion, fourth, 93; Rochester Adams, fifth, 114; and Birmingham Seaholm, sixth, 156.
Another highlight from the regular season was the girls and boys won the Oakland County Cross Country Championship, Oct. 7.
Both the boys and the girls team finished as county champions.
The girls team scored 89 points for the top spot, 51 points more than the second place finisher, Rochester, for their third consecutive county championship.
Three Wildcats finished in the top 15 with Bigelow in second place in the time of 19:15.4; Elling, fourth,19:38.5; and Brodeur, 13th, 20:06.5.
The boys finished in first place with 108 points for their first county win in the program’s history. McArthur finished in eighth place in the time of 16:34.1; and Cusick, 11th, 16:48.
The Wildcats compete in the state championship on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.The girls race at 2:10 p.m. and boys race at 3:30 p.m. Admission is $11 and tickets must be purchased on GoFan.com.