ROUNDUP: Niles duo earn All-BCS in cross country, Dowagiac’s Parker wins again

Published 3:46 pm Wednesday, October 14, 2020

By Scott Novak

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BRIDGMAN — A pair of Niles runners earned All-BCS Athletic Conference honors at the league meet hosted by Bridgman on Tuesday.

The Vikings’ Kierstyn Thompson and Cassandra Shortman finished fourth and sixth respectively with times of 21:45 and 22:05. The top seven runners earned all-conference honors.

Just missing out was Brandywine’s Allison Lauri, who finished eighth with a time of 22:15.

Bridgman captured the girls team title with 34 points, while Berrien Springs was second with 60, and Buchanan third with 74. Niles and Brandywine were fourth and fifth with 77 and 106 points, respectively.

Bridgman’s Karsyn Stewart was the individual conference champion with a time of 20:42.

Berrien Springs won the boys team title with 18 points. Bridgman was second with 52. Brandywine finished fourth with 97 and Niles sixth with 129 points.

Ashton Sheline, of Berrien Springs, captured the individual conference championship with a time of 16:59.

Buchanan’s Walker Barz missed all-conference by two places, as he finished ninth with a time of 18:44. Brandywine’s top finisher was Micah Colby, who placed 15th with a time of 20:13. Niles was led by Aiden Kruger’s 13th-place finish and time of 19:48.

 

Dowagiac cross country

The Dowagiac cross country team wrapped up the home portion of its 2020 schedule by hosting a Wolverine Conference Jamboree at the Dowagiac Middle School on Tuesday.

Three Rivers, Paw Paw, Vicksburg and Plainwell competed against the Chieftains. The jamboree was scored as a quad dual.

The Chieftain boys team did not have enough runners to post a team score. That means Dowagiac was defeated by the Wildcats, Red Wolves, Bulldogs and Trojans 15-50.

Cole Parker, of Dowagiac, was the individual winner with a time of 16:23.

The same thing is true about the girls’ portion of the meet. Dowagiac was defeated by the other four schools 15-50 as it did not field a full team of runners.

Grace Pettit, of Plainwell, was the overall winner with a time of 19:47.

Dowagiac’s Erin Beck finished 19th with a time of 23:24.

“Dowagiac has a couple of runners out right now,” said Dowagiac coach Maria Kulka. “This really hurts our team because we’re so small. Cole Parker had a strong race yesterday. Erin Beck has had a stand out season so far. She has gone from running 28 minutes in a 5K to running a 22:51 [personal record]. She has so much potential. She will have an even more successful XC season next fall.”

Kulka also said that Laura Schaller turned in a PR, as did Noah Phillips on the boys race.

“Laura is a freshman,” Kulka said. “I look forward to watching her grow and improve as a cross country runner.”

 

Edwardsburg cross country

The Eddies competed in the Wolverine Conference Jamboree hosted by Sturgis on Tuesday.

Otsego won the boys race with 23 points, while Allegan was second with 50 points, Sturgis third with 62 and Edwardsburg fourth with 105.

Colin Mulder, of Otsego, was the individual winner with a time of 15:47.

The Eddies were led by Will Leman, who placed 24th with a time of 19:08.

Otsego also won the girls race with 18 points. Sturgis was second with 58, Allegan third with 72, and the Eddies fourth with 98.

Elizabeth Burrill, of Otsego, was the girls’ winner with a time of 20:08.

Macy Andress posted a time of 22:57 to finish 19th to lead Edwardsburg.

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