Packer Cross Country

Cole Lowery, Isaac Romero, Carter Sherman, Blake Taylor, Sean Pettis on the MSU course- Photo by Anne Pettis

Fremont Runners Compete at MSU Invite, Packer Girls Take 2nd At First Conference Meet

By Michael Paige
 
In a program with many traditions, including a tradition of excellence, the expectation that Fremont runners will train during the summer is a given. Starting about a week after the completion of track season in the spring, Packer runners can be seen all over town running literally thousands of miles collectively in anticipation of the upcoming fall cross country season. Fremont coach Cliff Somers rewards those that hit certain individual milestones with a trip to East Lansing to compete in the annual MSU Invitational. This year 3 girls ran the miles necessary to run in the meet, held each year at Akers East Golf course on the south end of the beautiful MSU campus. The race is broken up into divisions and also includes an Elite race. The girls ran in the Bronze (Division 2) race. Linnea Paige (So) placed 7th out of 294 runners with a season record time of 19:56.2. According to Coach Somers, “she committed to the lead pack early and moved up 6 or 7 places in the middle mile to 6th. She held 6th for most of the 3rd mile before sliding back to 7th.” Rachel Maddox (Jr) placed 152nd with a time of 24:34 and Rocquel Richards (So) was 205th coming in at 26:10.
 
The Fremont boys competed in the elite race. Fremont senior Sean Pettis had a breakout performance, placing 11th in 15:46.7, the 2nd fastest performance by a Fremont athlete ever at this meet, and the fastest since this version of the course started in 2010. According to Coach Somers, “he ran a smart race grabbing onto the tail end of a big lead pack and slowly picking through over the middle part of the race.” Junior Carter Sherman (17:00) 50th, sophomore Issac Romero (17:28) 80th, junior Cole Lowery (18:14) 123rd, and junior Blake Taylor (18:23) 131st all turned in season record performances. With five runners, Fremont compiled a team score of 329, good for 14th out of the 19 teams in the elite race,                  

Rocquel Richards, Linnea Paige, and Rachel Maddox competed in East Lansing.- Photo by Michael Paige

​​Montague hosted the first West Michigan Conference Lakes Division meet this year on Sept. 12. The Ludington girls took an early lead, led by Junior Summer Brower (19:43 finish), and went on to win the meet with a team score of 26. Despite a great finish, Fremont sophomore Linnea Paige, was outsprinted in the last 100 meters by Ludington freshman Annabelle Lowman and Whitehall junior Cami Kraai. The three finished about a second apart. Manistee senior Cecilia Postma rounded out the top 5.
 Paige finished with a time of 20.09, leading the Packers to a second-place finish. According to Coach Somers, “She ran a good race, and despite (being) out kicked in the last 100 she had one of the best finishes I have seen her turn in.” Joelle Patten finished 14th with a season best time of 22:59. Elise Pfeiffer came in 19th with a time of 23:39, just seconds from a PR. Junior Rachel Maddox (24:13) and freshman Kira Manchip (24:56.36) rounded out the scoring spots for the Packers. Rocquel Richards (24:56.44) and Olivia Stroven (26:44) also ran well for Fremont.
 The Packers took second overall with 85 points, just one point ahead of Manistee. Whitehall, Montague and Oakridge finished 4, 5 and 6.
 The next conference meet is Sept. 19 at Whitehall.