By TERI TUNE
Thanks to the return of several talented veterans, the Bath girls cross country team is a favorite to repeat as conference champions again this season behind head coach Brad Abendroth.
The team is made up of Class C-D All-Area selection Kwyn Trevino along with Gabi Labioda, Jackie Micheaux, Tonisty Dugan, Maggie Hammond, Taylor Brown, Alyssa Abendroth, Marisa Hilts, Pearl Sattler, Annie Fanta, and Samatha Evans.
Of those runners, the Bees return seven all-leaguers in Trevino (first team), Dugan, Labioda, Hammond, Micheaux, and Brown (second team), and Hilts (honorable mention).
“Our first invitational at Durand, the girls finished first and have been looking great ever since,” said coach Abendroth. “If we can stay focused and stay healthy, another conference championship is not out of reach.”
The Bees also have some new freshman runners that are making an impact this season.
“Fanta finished fifth in the Greater Lansing Junior Meet last fall, and she is real close to getting her time down to 19,” Abendroth said. “Fanta and Abendroth are our top two runners so far this season. Abendroth had anemia last season, and it took most of the season to figure out what was wrong. She had a great track season, has dropped three minutes off her time this year, and is doing extremely well.”
The girls are ranked fourth in Division 3 in the state, but coach Abendroth says he’s not letting that get to the girls.
“I tell them each meet is the same, some just have a little more meaning, but if you lay everything out there on the course and you cross the finish line knowing you couldn’t have given it anything more, then you did your best,” Abendroth said.
The Bath boys team finished fourth last year, but coach Abendroth hopes to improve on that this season.
“I think we are a lot stronger team than last year,” Abendroth said. “I was anxious to see how they did at one of the first invites where they got to all run, and the guys finished fourth out of nineteen schools at the Ovid-Elsie Invite. They are really looking good this season.”
Nick Thomas is pacing the boys this season.
“Nick Thomas is leading the guys right now,” Abendroth said. “His fastest time right now is 18:01, and he will get that down and be in the 17 range. Also leading the Bees is Brad Coulter, and he is running around the 18:46 mark.”
Also running this year and contributing to the boys’ success are Spencer Scott, Tyler Billingsley, Dylan Parks, Russell Lipe, Reuben Chavez, Colin Stonehouse, Sean Wilson, Zach Seddon, and David Nadorozny.
The Bath program is successful every year. Coach Abendroth says that has a lot to do with a former coach and a great middle school program.
“Brian Tomanek is the middle school coach, and he does real good at going out and finding kids that are not involved in other sports and convincing them to run for us,” Abendroth said. “He has a great group of girls and helps prepare them to become successful at the high school level.”
Abendroth also contributes some of the program’s success to Scott Sayler.
“Sayler was the middle school coach before Tomanek, but due to budget cuts they had to let him go; but since Tomanek has taken over Sayler is back,” Abendroth said. “He is a gym teacher and he helps scout out kids for me at the middle school level. The two of them do a great job and allow us to have a great feeder program. They have a lot to do with how successful we are as a program.”
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