Concord

Lumen Christi Catholic High School runner Madison Osterberg, left, battles Grass Lake runner Kailee Sandoval during the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 regional at Ella Sharp Park.  Photo by Jeff Steers, JTV Sports. By Jeff Steers JTV Sports Having frontrunners in the sport of cross country is a blessing for high school teams. Both Hanover-Horton and Lumen Christi Catholic high schools are using their frontrunners to gain cross country success this season. The Comets won the boys’ Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 regional title at Ella Sharp on Friday, placing three runners in the top five on the 5K course. Lumen Christi had three runners in the top four in winning the girls’ regional with 52 points. The top three teams and top seven runners – not on qualifying teams – qualify for the MHSAA state cross country finals on Friday or Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Hanover-Horton scored 46 points in the boys’ event, besting Leslie by nine points. Homer finished in the third position to secure a spot in the state finals. H-H runner Dean Reynolds finished first in the boys’ race with a time of 16 minutes, 3 seconds. Teammates Rogan Melling (16:37)…

Faith Smith of Lumen Christi Catholic High School leads a pack of runners during the pre-regional event at Hudson High School.  Photo by Jeff Steers, JTV Sports. By Jeff Steers JTV Sports Sixteen Jackson County high school cross country teams and a number of individuals qualified for regionals to be held next week. Runners competed at pre-regionals at a number of events held this week. The pre-regional idea was created by the Michigan High School Athletic Association to limit the number of runners and racing fans at events due to COVID-19 restrictions. The top four teams and top seven individuals – not on qualifying teams – qualified for various pre-regional events. The top three teams and top seven individuals – not on qualifying teams – at each regional will qualify for the MHSAA state cross country finals. The finals will be held at Michigan International Speedway on Nov. 6 and 7. Divisions 1 and 2 will run on Friday, Nov. 6 and Divisions 3 and 4 will be held on Saturday, Nov. 7. The top 30 individuals at the state meet earn all-state honors. Here are results from the pre-regionals held this week. Regionals will be held at various sites…