Lansing Catholic senior Keenan Rebera won the Division 3 boys’ cross country state championship at Michigan International Speedway on Nov. 2 with time to spare.
Robera clocked the course in 15:31.0. He beat second-place finisher Chase Barnett of Mason County in 16:00.9.
Rebera helped Lansing Catholic take third place in the team standings with 189 points. Benzie Central was first at 111. Stockbridge was second at 129 and Clare was fourth at 192.
For Lansing Catholic, Jefferey Lorencen was 25th in 17:57.8, Nick Kelsey 41st in 17:15.6, Ethan Markey 60th in 17:31.3, Teddy Terzian 62nd in 17:33.9, Teddy Jurkovic 90th in 18:00.9, and Max Hayden 146th in 18:57.1.
“I took the first mile very hard,” Rebera said. “I managed to hold on to that second mile. I tried as hard as I could in that third mile, when there was hard footing.”
Rebera said he was confident of victory at about the second mile. “I knew if I had to, I had enough energy to kick it in if someone came up on me,” he said. “I knew if I had a larger lead by the second mile I could get it. I’m very happy with it.”
Being at state was definitely a goal for Rebera coming into the season.
On his team’s third place finish, “I’m really proud of them. They worked really hard,” Rebera said. “We’ve been struggling all year. It’s a great way to end the season.”
Clare was led by Hunter Nivison, ninth in 16:27.4. Kyler Phillips was 15th in 16:39.9, Kevin Spicer-Torres 34th in 17:09.3, Ben Haupt 50th in 17:24.8, and Chase Field 84th in 17:56.2.
St. Louis was ninth as a team. Connor Pilmore was 18th in 16:44.3, while Evan Goodell was 29th in 17:06.5, Collin Shaw 36th in 17:11.5, and Zack Ross 96th in 18:08.7.
Bullock Creek was 11th, led by James Sira, seventh in 16:15.9.