Romeo girls win state Division 1 championship
Romeo is No. 1 in Division 1.
Annie Hrabovsky finished third in the team race to pace Romeo’s scorers and the Bulldogs had 65 points to win the state Division 1 cross country championship at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday.
Natalia Guaresimo finished sixth, Emmerson Clor 10th, and Lillian Deskins 17th to join Hrabovsky as all-staters, and Olivia Purdy completed the scoring for the Bulldogs, who finished second in 2022.
“We didn’t know if we could win, but we came into the season working hard,” Clor said. “Then we saw we got ranked first as a team and we were all super excited. It was a goal we put on our list, and it got achieved. It’s pretty awesome.”
Ann Arbor Pioneer finished second with 126 points and Holland West Ottawa third with 186. Pioneer was led by individual champion Rachel Forsyth, who ran the 5,000 meters in a state finals record of 16:28.5.
Hrabovsky finished in 17:28.7.
“It’s amazing to see what this team has been able to do over the last year,” Romeo coach Mike Buslepp said. “Putting it together on this day is special. I knew at the beginning of the year it was a special group.”
It was the second championship for a Romeo team. The boys won in 2020.
The top 30 runners in each girls and boys race in each division made all-state.
Jayden Harberts of Dakota finished sixth in 17:57.8.
Anchor Bay’s Thomas Westphal achieved a second all-state berth in as many years when he finished second in the boys Division 1 race.The senior who is headed for Michigan State ran a school-record 14:57.9.
“He had a heck of a race,” Tars coach Jeff Payne said. “Second place, a new school record — you can’t ask for much more than that.”
Westphal, who earlier this season won the Macomb County championship and a second regional championship, finished fourth in the 2022 finals.
Champion Seth Norder of Grand Haven finished in 14:54.3.
Romeo senior Vincent Guaresimo finished 15th, Utica sophomore Harper Wesley 26th and Dakota senior Carter
Fox 27th to make all-state.
Northville was the team champion with 128 points. Second-place Brighton had 141.
Grand Rapids Christian won the girls Division 2 champion. Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Emily Tomes was the individual champion. Boys champions were Forest Hills Eastern and TJ Hansen of Freeland.
In Division 3, Jackson Lumen Christi was the girls team champion and Hart’s
Jessica Jazwinski the individual winner. Boys winners were Traverse City St. Francis and Collin Farmer of Pewamo-Westphalia.
In Division 4, Whitmore Lake won the girls team crown and Aiden Harrand of Buckley the individual championship. Boys champions were Hillsdale Academy and Tyler Lenn of Cardinal Mooney.