Sports
Seaholm's Audrey Belf Captures Cross Country Crown
The Birmingham Seaholm junior and sophomore teammate Marissa Dobry finished in the top eight in the Division 1 finals Saturday.
Birmingham Seaholm High School junior Audrey Belf won the Division 1 cross country individual state title Saturday with a time of 17:31.1, according to mhsaa.com. Despite the muddy course at Michigan International Speedway, the Maple standout finished roughly nine seconds ahead of the next competitor.
“This was amazing, I never dreamed that this would be possible,” Belf told miprepzone.com. “I looked back at my freshman year thinking it would be cool to break 18 (minutes) one day or be closer to (former state champion) Erin (Finn, of West Bloomfield) or something but, it’s surreal.”
Sophomore teammate Marissa Dobry finished 8th with 18:18.0. Their top-10 performances, however, were not enough to propel Seaholm to a second consecutive team title. The Maples finished fourth overall.
Other Teams
Division 1The Bloomfield Hills High School Black Hawks finished 22nd. Here are th top three finishers:
- Freshman Elizabeth Jenkins, 19:09
- Sophomre Giovanna Leone, 19:56.6
- Junior Sam Babineau, 20:17.2
Division 2
Cranbrook and Detroit Country Day finished 23rd and 24th overall. Yellow Jacket Junior Jackie Bredenberg was second overall at 17:55.9. Here are the top three finishers for both teams.
Marion finished 27th in the Mustangs' first finals appearance as a team in four years. Admittedly inconsistent throughout the season, Head Coach Ovi Olteanu said he was proud of his team for stepping up during regional competition to qualify for the finals.
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With freshman Elli Johnson getting her best time, (20:12), and the Mustangs returning all runners but seniors, and team "engines" Annika Johnson and Julia Griessman, Olteanu is looking ahead to next season.
"I hope the girls learn the lesson and they can see the hard work during this season was rewarded with this qualification at the state championship," he said. "I hope they will approach next season with more confidence and more desire."
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Country Day
- Jackie Bredenberg, 17:55.9
- Alexis Lazarczyk, 20:48.1
- Julia Dutkiewicz, 21:06.5
Cranbrook
- Claire Ford, 19:26.0
- Natalie Baxter, 19:51.3
- Katherine Toenniges, 21:51.5
Marian
- Elli Johnson, 21:10.0
- Julia Griesman, 22:38.8
- Mari Johnson, 22:44.9
Boys
Birmingham Seaholm finished 9th overall as a team in Saturday's competition. Here are the top three finishers.- Alex Skender, 16:27.0
- Ross Bernard, 16:30.8
- Jack Halpin, 16:45.3
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