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Buchanan wins fourth straight Lakeland title
Published 8:36am Tuesday, October 27, 2009By TOM NYHUIS
Niles Daily Star
COLOMA – It was another close win for the Lady Bucks on a overcast Monday afternoon in Coloma, the site of the 2009 Lakeland Conference Cross Country meet.
Buchanan edged out Berrien Springs 36-38 to take the outright league title for their fourth straight year.
“This one means a whole lot more than the other three,” Buchanan coach Bruce Hipshear said. “The day we ran Berrien at Centreville, the first race of the year, and if it would have been a dual meet we would have lost by 12 points. So we have had that hill to climb all year and we didn’t beat them until a week ago Thursday at the Dowagiac Invitational and then the dual meet last week and now today. That’s a very, very good team and it took a whole years worth of dedication to chop that down.”
The Lady Bucks were anchored by seniors Torrie Eger and Elizabeth Hein running in their final conference race. The two veteran runners didn’t let coach Hipshear and the rest of the team down with Eger taking her third conference win, out distancing all the other runners with a time of 20:40.5.
“She has never lost a dual meet in this conference and the only conference championship she didn’t win was when she fell on our course of all things and thank God it was one of her teammate (Hein) there to pick it up. I can’t describe to you what kind of kid she is everyday in practice. The effort you saw today in this race is what I get every day in practice out of her. She is a machine and she is going to have no trouble adjusting in going to college,” Hipshear said.
Hein finished fourth with a time of 21:54.2.
“I didn’t have a real confident feel before the race. I got a sense of ease on their part but they fooled me. I thought when push came to shove they were not going to have quite enough but they did today. These girls just fascinated me all year. To climb the hill that we’ve climbed they are incredible,” Hipshear praised his team.
The future of the Lady Bucks team made sure that their team finished strong as junior Stephanie Reith finish sixth with a time of 22:20.8 with freshmen Shannen Green placed ninth overall with a time of 22:47.5 and Allison Mitchell came across the finish line in 15th place with a time of 23:17.1.
Berrien Springs had runners Jessica Nave (20:58.9), Mandy Piedt (21:13.6), and Kelsey Lewis (21:49.8) place second, third and fourth. Their next two runners crossed in 13th and 16th to fall two points behind the Lady Bucks.
Coloma finished third with a team score of 75 with Edwardsburg coming in fourth with a score of 88. Bridgman was fifth with 118 and Brandywine finished sixth with a team score of 181.
In boys action, Edwardsburg’s Josh Clark captured the individual championship with a time of 16:49.4 but it was Bridgman taking the team title with a score of 22 points out distancing the Eddies who finished second with 56 points. Buchanan ended the day with a third place finish with 62 led by senior Rick Reith’s ninth place finish in a time of 18:50.8. Freshman Carston McCarty followed Reith across the line in tenth with a time of 18:54.3.
Alex Eger, also a freshman, placed 13th (19:06.4) for the Bucks third spot followed by juniors Jon Kuntz in 14th (19:58.6) and John Querl 16th (20:07).
Brandywine’s Elliot Richards place 12th for the Bobcat’s with a time of 19:02.4.
Berrien Spring finished fourth with 116 points while Brandywine came in fifth with 131 points and Coloma was sixth with 159 points.
Lakeland Conference
Cross Country Meet
At Coloma
Girls team scores
1. Buchanan 36, 2. Berrien Springs 38, 3. Coloma 75, 4. Edwardsburg 88, 5. Bridgman 118, 6. Brandywine 181
Top 10
1. Torrie Eger (BU) 20:40, 2. Jessica Nave (BS) 20:58, 3. Mandy Piedt (BS) 21:13, 4. Kelsey Lewis (BS) 21:49, 5. Elizabeth Hein (BU) 21:54, 6. Stephanie Reith (BU) 22:20, 7. Monica Harris (C) 22:25, 8. Lindsay Ward (E) 22:41, 9. Shannen Green (BU) 22:47, 10. Becca Guntz (C) 22:57
Boys team scores
1. Bridgman 22, 2. Edwardsburg 56, 3. Buchanan 62, 4. Berrien Springs 116, 5. Brandywine 131, 6. Coloma 159
Top 10
1. Josh Clark (E) 16:49, 2. Mark Haukereid (BR) 16:55, 3. Cameron Magro (BR) 17:04, 4. Conner Magro (BR) 17:23, 5. Zak Eggleston (E) 17:50, 6. Jarret Anderson (BR) 18:04, 7. Justin Kiewel (BR) 18:26, 8. Jake Malsch (BR) 18:39, 9. Rick Reith (BU) 18:50, 10. Carston McCarty (BU) 18:54
