Lauren Brasure made her last high school cross country race a memorable one.
The Rockford senior finished in 17:40.8 and placed second in the Division 1 race Nov. 2 at Michigan International Speedway. Audrey Belf of Birmingham Seaholm won the race in 17:31.1.
Brasure’s performance helped Rockford take fifth as a team with 169 points. Hudsonville was third at 164, Seaholm was fourth at 165, and Traverse City Central was sixth at 170.
Kerianne Schoff finished 17th in the team race for the Rams in 18:31.7, while Morgan Harney was 30th in 18:46.5, Morgan Benoit 41st in 19:03.4, and Larissa Medich 79th in 19:38.7.
It was Brasure’s best finish at a state meet, which was made more dramatic because it was also the first time she broke into the top 100.
“I had a lot of confidence coming into this race,” she said, adding that in the final thousand meters, she realized she wasn’t going to catch Belf. She felt secure in second place.
“I felt really happy,” she said. “I couldn’t have asked for a more successful season.”
The team had hopes for a strong finish, Brasure acknowledged.
“We’re happy with what we got,” she said. “We met [expectations].”
Brasure plans on running after high school but isn’t sure yet of her exact plans.
Meanwhile, it was the final Division 2 race for Chippewa Hills’ Megan O’Neil, an all-stater for the fourth straight year. O’Neil was eighth in the Division 2 race with a time of 18:50.5.
Because of previous downpours, runners were presented with muddy course conditions at MIS.
“I think I did OK but I would have liked to have been higher, but it’s all right,” O’Neil said. “I wasn’t at where I wanted to be at the start.”
When it got down to the nitty gritty, O’Neil found herself too far behind to challenge for a top spot.
She smiled while talking about the muddy conditions. “I wore half-inch spikes, which may not have been the best idea,” she said. “Everything else was good.”
O’Neil was third as a freshman in 2010. She was ninth as a sophomore and seventh as a junior.