| 11/2/2009 8:28:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Rockford boys cross country
team rules the Red
For an unprecedented 15th straight year Rockford High School's boys cross country team captured the OK Red crown last Thursday, Oct. 22, at the campus of East Kentwood High School.
Rockford claimed first tallying 45 points, followed by East Kentwood 50 and Grand Haven 60. East Kentwood's Isaac Cox claimed the individual title crossing the line at 16:27.5.
"We expect to challenge for the OK Red crown every year. Our boys know coming in that we have to be at our very best to continue the streak," said head coach Andrew Martin, who has guided the Rams for the past three seasons. "Today our guys took on the challenge of a tough muddy course and some quality competition, and they didn't disappoint me or themselves."
The Rockford boy's team was led by senior Grant Gunneson who was third overall in the race with a time of 16:51. He was followed by fellow senior Drake Veitenheimer in fourth at 16:59, junior Spencer Gerber in fifth at 17:07, senior Nick Shear in eighth at 17:11 and junior Devon Liu in 12th at 17:22. All five scoring runners for Rockford were awarded All-Conference medals for their performances.
In the junior varsity race, Rockford showed that the cupboard will not be bare next year as the Rams swept the first five places, earning them a perfect score of 15 in the team competition.
The Rams were paced by Jake Naessens (17:47) who easily outdistanced the field to finish in first place. Naessens was followed across the finish line by Evan Bruin (17:54), Brett Johnson (17:58), Connor Jewell (17:58) and Taylor Swihart (18:01), a spread of only 14 seconds from first to fifth place.
"I was apparently more nervous than the boys as our junior varsity guys ran excellent today," Martin said. "For many of these guys this was their last race of the season and it is always great to go out with big performances."
Rockford will compete at Carson City for the MHSAA Division I regional. The top three teams and the top 15 individuals advance to the state finals at Michigan International Speedway on Nov. 7.
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