BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
HUDSONVILLE — Geri Gee knew what type of girls track and field team she had months ago.
The Brighton squad was reaping potential and had a plethora of talented athletes capable of qualifying for the state meet.
Some eight months after watching Brighton’s girls cross-country team earn a state runner-up finish at the Division 1 state finals, Gee’s track team followed that up with a fifth-place finish the D-1 state meet June 4 at Hudsonville High School — which is believed to be the school’s best finish to date in the sport.
“We just have great collection of girls that are talented and hard-working,” said Gee. “I (knew we had) the talent to be a top 10 team. No doubt.”
Brighton’s season saw the Bulldogs win the KLAA Lakes Conference meet with 128 points. The Bulldogs were also second at the Saline Golden Triangle Invitational, Brighton Invitational and Milford regional and sixth at the Dexter Spring Showers Invitational to go along with a 5-0 dual meet record in the KLAA West Division.
Erin Dowd led Brighton at the state finals, earning second in the 300 hurdles (43.72) and third in the 100 hurdles (14.76). Jenna Sica also crossed sixth in the 3,200 meters (10:48.25).
Brighton also placed in two relays at the D-1 finals.
Dowd teamed up with Cassidy Newburg, Maddie Brown
and Maggie Samanich to place fourth in the 1,600-meter relay (3:54.47). The unit of Sica, Samanich, Brown and Sam Fusik recorded a fifth-place showing in the 3,200-meter relay (9:21.54).
The Bulldogs competed in five other events at the finals but did crack the top eight in those events.
“We’ll lose some very good seniors, but we have some good athletes coming up,” said Gee. “I know we’ll be good in the distance races because our cross country program is so strong. We hope to keep developing athletes in the future. We are really looking forward to developing some field events (athletes). That’s the one area where we did not score much at the big meets.”