By Staff
PORTAGE – As the saying goes, "the third time is the charm."
But for Niles senior Samantha Brawley, the fourth time was a school record.
Brawley finished 14th on Saturday at the Division 2 Regional Cross Country Championships at West Portage Middle School to become the first Niles runner to qualify for the state finals four times.
Brawley will be joined by teammate Madie Rodts, who finished eighth overall.
The top 15 individual runners advance to the state meet, which will be held Nov. 3 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
The Vikings will also be represented in the boys' race as sophomore Mark Calhoun finished seventh.
Rodts ran a time of 19:44.9, while Brawley was clocked at 19:52.3.
Rounding out the order of finish for the Lady Vikings, who finished 10th as a team, were Liz VandenHeede (43rd), Sarah Taylor (69th), Bree Donohue (85th), Stephanie Kolloff (94th) and Nikki Horvath (97th).
Marshall was the overall girls' champion with 100 points. Sturgis finished second and Vicksburg third. Lakeshore and Edwardsburg were sixth and 13th respectively.
Kaitlyn Buzalski was the top Edwardsburg finisher as she was 46th with a time of 21:23.3.
Calhoun ran a time of 16:38.6 to advance to the state finals.
Niles finished 12th overall.
Brett Ortiz was 57th, while Anthony Horvath was 58th, Shawn Calhoun 76th, Paul Mooney 93rd and Calib Bliss 95th.
Vicksburg won the team title with 68 points. St. Joseph was second and Three Rivers third. Niles finished 12th overall with Lakeshore and Edwardsburg finishing 13th and 15th respectively.
Ryan Bringedahl was the top Edwardsburg finisher with at time of 19:11.2, which was good for 75th place.
Division 2 Cross Country
Regional
At West Portage Middle School
Girls' Team Scores
1. Marshall 100; 2. Sturgis 102; 3. Vicksburg 107; 4. Mattawan 130; 5. St. Joseph 146; 6. Lakeshore 152; 7. Gull Lake 155; 8. Battle Creek Harper Creek 166; 9. Lakeview 192; 10. Niles 219; 11. Three Rivers 244; 12. Comstock 337; 13. Edwardsburg 340; 14. South Haven 390; 15. Coldwater 421
Individual Top 10
1. Molly Waterhouse (Vicksburg) 18:51.9; 2. Ann Marie Arseneau (Sturgis) 19:22.3; 3. Danielle Hicks (Marshall) 19:28.9; 4. Alex Keyser (Sturgis) 19:35.4; 5. Morgan Stuut (Three Rivers( 19:38.9; 6. Amanda Weidner (Harper Creek) 19:40.2; 7. Katie Buckleitner (St. Joseph) 19:42.8; 8. Madie Rodts (Niles) 19:44.9; 9. Amanda Weaver (Marshall) 19:48.8; 1-. Elley Hinkel (Mattawan) 19:50.6
Niles Results
8. Maddie Rodts, 19:44.9; 14. Samantha Brawley, 19:52.3; 43. Liz Vandenheede, 21:21.6; 69. Sarah Taylor, 22:30.7; 85. Bree Donohue, 24:04; 94. Stephanie Kolloff, 25:45.6; 97. Nikki Horvath, 27:09.4
Edwardsburg Results
46. Kaitlyn Buzalski, 21:23.3; 61. Veronica Brubacher, 22:07.4; 64. Kathy Stewart, 22:13.4; 76. Lindsay Ward, 23:09.2; 93. Kim Billings, 25:45; 95. Lisa Billings, 26:13.8; 96. Holly Billings, 26:57.8
Boys' Team Scores
1. Vicksburg 68; 2. St. Joseph 83; 3. Three Rivers 97; 4. Sturgis 111; 5. Mattawan 127; 6. Coldwater 200; 7. Battle Creek Harper Creek 220; 8. South Haven 225; 9. Marshall 232; 10. Gull Lake 257; 11. Battle Creek Lakeview 273; 12. Niles 291; 13. Lakeshore 307; 14. Comstock 338; 15. Edwardsburg 436
Indvidual Top 10
1. Nathan Martin (Three Rivers) 15:53.6; 2. Jeff MacMillan (Mattawan) 16:13.0; 3. Sam Felton (St. Joseph) 16:31.4; 4. James Kirschner (St. Joseph) 16:31.4; 5. Gerardo Torres (Coldwater) 16:32.9; 6. Taylor Polzin (Sturgis) 16:35.1; 7. Mark Calhoun (Niles) 16:38.6; 8. Chris Ryan (Vicksburg) 16:43.2; 9. Tommy VanOosten (Lakeview) 16:48.3; 10. Mark Beams (Vicksburg) 16:46.8
Niles Results
7. Mark Calhoun, 16:38.6; 57. Brett Ortiz, 18:23.2; 58. Anthony Horvath, 18:24.9; 76. Shawn Calhoun, 19:18.1; 93. Paul Mooney, 21:06.2; 95. Caleb Bliss, 21:12
Edwardsburg Results
75. Ryan Bringedahl, 19:11.2; 84. Zak Egglestone, 19:49.1; 85. Pat Reck, 19:54.5; 92. Daniel Crowell, 20:55.8; 100. Ben Fahey, 24:26.7