Lake Orion’s runners ran through the wet and cold of the Oct. 14 Oxford Invitational, taking second and seventh places, respectively.
The boys managed to put two in the top 15 spots, including junior T.J. Carey, who took first place and sophomore David Diaz who took fifth.
Despite the strong finishes of individual runners, Lake Orion simply could not eke out enough points to beat the first place Lakeland High School. Head Coach Stan Ford said the team still lacks depth.
‘It seems like we started off well in the season, but we haven’t improved too much yet,? said Ford. ‘We’re doing okay and we’ll be fine in the training, but being patient and waiting for it all to come together is important too. We ran better Friday than we did at the county meet last Saturday, but we still have little things to work on.
‘Still, it boosted our confidence to come back from a county meet and run so well.?
Girls? Head Coach Debbie McDonald was likewise optimistic and said despite the lower score at the invitational, her runners continue to surprise her.
‘The freshmen keep getting better every meet,? she said. ‘Freshmen Madz Ham has been our first runner for a couple of meets now, but Freshmen Erin Womack was leading Friday where, when the season started, she was fifth or sixth. Freshmen Danielle Carr, likewise, started the season just missing varsity but is now consistantly on the varsity team.
McDonald said the freshmen are keeping everyone on their toes, but cannot predict who will be running the reigonal meet – ‘our top eight girls are just too close.?
The coach said her team was essentially at the same place it was last year,