BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
MILFORD — Running stride-for-stride with Royal Oak’s Grace Cutler, Milford’s Mallory Barrett was ready to unleash her weapon on the rest of the field: Her blazing foot speed.
Barrett soared during the final quarter mile for a 18:19.0 clocking to win the prestigious Oakland County Championships at Kensington Metropark, Milford’s home course, by three seconds over Cutler.
This not only helped the Mavericks finish second behind defending state champion Birmingham Seaholm by only 10 points, but proved that Barrett is ready to take over as Oakland County’s next great distance standout.
“I just want to help my team do the best it can,” offered the humble Barrett, always putting her team goals first above individual goals.
Barrett, a junior, has won four dual meets this season to go alone with her wins at the Oakland County and KLAA Lakes Division Championships, a meet the fifth-ranked Mavericks won by four points over fourth-ranked Brighton.
At the conference meet, Barrett out-kicked Waterford Mott’s Katie Osika to win in narrow fashion once again (18:29.9 to 18:30.4).
In an area known for all-state runners, even several state champions, veteran Milford cross country and track coach Brian Saylers knows he has a special talent in Barrett.
“We’ve had some good ones over the years, boys and girls, and I think Mallory is going to be right up there with the best of them by the time she finishes,” said Saylers. “I can see her running in the 17s in cross country this year and I see her getting the 800 record and the (1,600 relay) record before she graduates. I think what makes Mallory so good is her foot speed. If it goes down to a foot race at the end, not too many will beat her. We saw that (at the Oakland County meet). She just has a great kick at the end.”
A letter-winner in cross country and track as a freshman, Barrett really came on strong as a sophomore.
In cross country last fall, Barrett finished in the top-20 six times with a pair of wins. She capped the campaign with a 17-place finish (18:20.0) at the Division 1 state finals at Michigan Speedway.
With the final weeks left on the 2015 cross country season around the corner, Barrett is looking to shine at the regional and state levels.
“I would like to finish in the top 10 and help my team finish in the top 10, maybe top five,” said Barrett.
Already well inside the top 10 Milford’s all-time top-10 list for cross-country, Barrett is quite accomplished as a middle distance and long distance runner in track and field.
Participating in multiple events last spring, Barrett finished fourth at D-1 state meet in the 800 meters (2:13.38) and ran the anchor leg on the seventh-place 1,600-meter relay (4:02.30). She’s been known to pass and out-kick runners down the stretch at numerous outings in both sports during her career.
Barrett has plenty of work to do and goals to reach over the next couple of years.
“We don’t know what we can do yet. We haven’t reached our peak,” she said. “But we’re hoping to do really well at the end of the season.”