By BUTCH HARMON
The Owosso girls cross country team is younger than usual this season, and with the Trojans runners showing plenty of promise so far this year, the future looks bright.
“As there are only two seniors on our team this year [one being a foreign exchange student who joined a month after the season began], we are very young and inexperienced,” said coach Brock Holtsclaw. “However, the girls are already showing great growth, and I am very excited to see how well we finish the season. This is also a very tight-knit team. Athletes from both the girls’ and the boys’ teams have been very supportive of each other in both practices and in meets.”
Junior Katie Owens and freshman Mirranda Libbey have been leading the way for the Trojans. “Katie Owens has been our best and most consistent runner this year,” Holtsclaw said. “Katie has already earned many medals and recently finished eighth at our first conference jamboree this season. She has posted a better time than last season already and is poised to be one of the top contenders at regionals this year. Mirranda Libbey has also been a bright spot this year. Although Mirranda has not been as consistent as Katie, she has posted a time that is nearly as fast. Mirranda has already battled through illness and injury this season and, now that she is healthy, I am excited to see what she can do.”
Owosso also has improved numbers this year, another factor for optimism. “Coach Bird and I were nervous about numbers this season,” Holtsclaw said. “During the summer, we did not have a lot of girls showing up for workouts. However, once the season officially kicked off, we ended up with a lot of runners. Although we did not have as many girls training through the summer as we would have liked, they have been working hard all season so far. We are still working toward where we want to be, but I am very happy with our progress so far. We currently have zero seniors and one junior on our varsity team. I am very excited to watch this young team grow over the next few years and see what they will blossom into.”
The Owosso boys cross country team placed third at the first CAAC Red Jamboree. Senior Max LeDuc led the way for Owosso, as he placed 11th. Sophomore Andrew Dallas was 15th, sophomore Samuel Stechschulte was 17th, and senior Josh Smelser placed 19th.