By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
BROOKLYN—Saugatuck girls cross country coach Angelina Bauer entered the Division 3 State Finals hoping her team could secure a top-10 finish.
And while the Trailblazers fell a little short of that—they finished 13th with 353 points—Bauer was far from disappointed.
After all, five of Saugatuck’s seven runners recorded personal-best times, while the other two weren’t too far off of their best times.
“They all ran tough races, and we moved up a place from our predicted ranking,” Bauer said. “We had been aiming for a Top 10 finish on a really good day, but we are not disappointed because we ran pretty well.”
Sophomore Kamryn Sixberry was one of the Trailblazers to record a personal record, leading the team with a time of 19:44 that was good for 44th place. Junior Alina Martinson was close behind with a personal-best effort of 19:53 to place 48th.
Also running their best times were sophomore Emma Schoonmaker (189th at 22:02), senior Meryn Curtis (214th at 22:43) and freshman Rain Kalleward (253rd at 25:19).
Sophomore Lyvia Curtis (56th at 20:01) and senior Alayah Nieuwsma (196th at 22:10) were close to their best times.
The fact that her runners were up to the challenge at the State Finals didn’t come as a surprise to Bauer given what she’s seen from them throughout the season.
“This team exceeded expectations this season,” she said. “They surprised themselves more than a few times. We lost a key runner early on, and at the time the runners who would replace her were running more than two minutes slower than her best time.
“But this group was incredibly resilient, and many stepped up to the plate.”
Since Saugatuck was in Division 4 last year, this marked the first time any of the runners who toed the line for the Trailblazers competed in the Division 3 State Finals.
“Moving to Division 3 from Division 4 is a different ball game,” Bauer said. “But these girls rose to the challenge.”
With five of Saugatuck’s seven runners slated to return next year, the future looks bright for the Trailblazers. And watching the Saugatuck boys team take home a runner-up trophy only adds to the motivation for the members of the girls team, according to Bauer.
“Watching our boys on the podium was thrilling, and it made the girls excited and motivated for next year,” she said. “With what we have returning and what we have incoming, there’s a lot of potential. All in all, it was a good day for us.”
It was also a good day for Fennville sophomore Isabelle Sliter.
Qualifying for the State Finals as an individual, Sliter placed 23rd with a time of 19:04. That earned her All-State honors by virtue of finishing in the top 30.
Sliter was 44th at the State Finals last year with a time of 19:47.
