Mendon buzzed into Portage Saturday and took both the boys and girls Division 4 regional cross country crowns. The boys scored 40 points to out run fellow team state qualifiers Kalamazoo Christian (63) and New Buffalo (107).
Centreville just missed out on a trip to Michigan International Speedway next Saturday in fourth place (130).
Seniors Michael Campbell, Zach Darmofal, Joe Gales and freshman Jacob Hagenbuch each snagged top-10 finishes for the Hornets. Campbell was third overall in 17:35, Darmofal was fourth with a time of 17:41 and Gales placed seventh in 17:52. Hagnebuch (18:17) was 10th and final scorer Alex Heckman, also a freshman, was 176th in 18:29, just edging teammate Austin Yunker, who was 17th with a time of 18:30. Tyler Frisbie crossed the line in 20th place with a time of 18:33.
Centreville freshman Brady Reynolds took ninth place (18:12) and senior Matt Clementz was 11th (18:19) and also advanced. Colon placed eighth overall with 207 points, with freshman Daniel Alva leading the way in 25th after clocking 18:58.
White Pigeon’s boys team was ninth (228), led by junior Lucas Hagen’s 21st-place run of 18:41.
For the girls, freshman Mary Leighton took second overall in a time of 20:49.7, sophomore Jenna Gales was fourth (21:17) and senior Jenna Griffith was fifth (21:18.2) to help Mendon win the title with 27 points. The Hornets topped Lake Michigan Catholic (56) and Kalamazoo Christian (78). Senior Lauren Samson did her part in 10th place (22:32.7) and freshman Julia Sutter was 15th in 23:15.1. Grace Leighton (senior) and Taylor Schmidt (freshman) were 21st and 25th, respectively.
Centreville’s girls suffered a similar fate as their male teammates, finishing in fourth place to miss qualifying for the finals by one position. However, junior Marissa Mohney made it out with a seventh-place finish (22:56).
White Pigeon freshman Robyn Watson turned in a 21:46.5 for eighth place and a spot in the finals field. Colon senior Skyler Harvey posted a time of 22:12.7 for ninth place to punch her championship ticket.
Visit the Scoreboard page for complete meet results.