The Wayland Union boys’ cross-country outfit is proving to be a pretty good one this fall, but it still can’t catch Forest Hills Eastern.
The Wildcat boys once again finished second to Forest Hills in the second O-K Gold Conference jamboree of the season. The Lady Wildcats settled for seventh.
The Hawks ran away from everybody else in the eight-team field Tuesday with 39 points. Wayland was runner-up with 76 and South Christian was third with 91.
Senior ace Devin Weaver turned in his best career performance with a time of 16:32.42 over the 5,00-meter course, good for fourth place. Sophomore Dylan Pallett was 12th in 17:03.56, senior Travis Koon 17th in 17:26.59, junior Isaac Dyer 20th in 17:42.88, and junior James Butler 23rd in 17:59.83.
That meant all five of Wayland’s scoring runners completed the 5K in less than 18 minutes.
Coach Raymond Antel said the Wildcats right now are projected to finish tied for third in the Division 2 regionals. The top three teams in each region qualify for the state championships at Michigan International Speedway.
Senior Olivia Barabas broke the 20-minute barrier again at 19:41.31 and finished seventh individually for the Wildcat girls. Junior Elliot Antel was 24th in 21:36.85, senior Noelle House 30th in 21:58.46, senior Emma Thayer 45th and freshman Megan Stack 72nd.
Forest Hills Eastern also emerged as the winner of the girls’ race.
