Saugatuck cross country teams place second at Holly

By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
HOLLY—Under the leadership of the husband/wife team of Rick and Angelina Bauer, the Saugatuck cross country team has never shied away from tough competition.
Case in point: the Trailblazers moved up a Division at the Holly Duane Raffin Festival of Races on Saturday, Sept. 13, in order to compete against some bigger schools they don’t otherwise have the opportunity to race.
The result was runner-up finishes for both the Saugatuck girls and boys teams in a field comprised largely of Division 2 teams.
Saugatuck is in Division 3 for MHSAA classification, with both ranked second in the most recent state poll.
“I could not be more proud of how our runners rose to the challenge today,” Rick Bauer said. “Second place (against this level of competition) is no small feat.
“Both our boys and girls went up against top-ranked teams and showed tremendous heart, discipline and teamwork.”
The Saugatuck girls finished with 67 points, putting them just 13 points behind winner Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, which is ranked 13th in Division 2.
“We purposely opted up a division at Holly to see the better competition,” Angelina Bauer said. “(The strong finish) is a reflection of the hard work all summer and season—early mornings, tough workouts and believing in one another.”
A trio of Saugatuck runners earned top-10 finishes: Kamryn Sixberry was sixth at 19:51, Alina Martinson was seventh at 19:55 and Livia Curtis was 10th at 20:22.
Ellyse Heyser was 20th at 21:11 and Savannah VanDenBerg rounded out Saugatuck’s scoring runners, placing 27th at 21:26.
“This is such a fantastic group of hardworking and fun girls,” Angelina Bauer said. “They know how to have fun, but they know how to focus as well.”
The Saugatuck boys, meanwhile, finished with 84 points. Only Flint Powers Catholic—the second-ranked team in Division 2—fared better, checking in with 32 points for the win.
Hillside Academy—ranked second in Division 4—was third with 87 points.
Marcus Silva paced Saugatuck, checking in at 16:39 to place eight. Fellow junior Grant Rehkopf joined him in the top 10, placing 10th at 16:44.
Sophomores Ira Brown (17:07) and Jackson Bowman (17:18) placed 13th and 17th, respectively, while senior Sammy Gamboa was Saugatuck’s fifth and final scoring runner. He placed 36th at 17:57.