By By TOM NYHUIS / Niles Daily Star
BUCHANAN – A typical October afternoon has air that is crisp and athletes take extra time to make sure they stay warm and stretched out before they compete in their sport.
At Monday afternoon's Lakeland Conference cross country meet at Buchanan, the runners had no problem keeping warm as temperatures soared to the high 80s making running the course extra difficult.
"The heat slowed everybody down," Buchanan coach Bruce Hipshear stated following the meet. "It was the same conditions for everyone though. That's why I reminded them before the race that we weren't going to let them run with air conditioners either and its all about where you are at today and don't worry about the times."
For Buchanan, it was the extra effort that both the girls and boys team put out that led to each team picking up a pair of wins over conference rivals Berrien Springs and Coloma.
The Lady Bucks defeated Berrien Springs 25-34 and topped Coloma 20-41.
In the girl's race, the overall winner for the day was Buchanan's Tori Eger with a time of 21:43. The next closest runner to cross the finish line was Berrien's Becky Miller at 22:23. The Lady Bucks' Liz Hein crossed the line third in a time of 23:19. The Shamrocks Leah Steinhauser finished the race fourth with a time of 24:00. Rebecca Buntz of Coloma finished fifth in a time of 24:13.
Rachel Detrich was sixth with a time of 25:00, Courtney Adolph of Buchanan was seventh (25:35) and Monica Harris placed eighth with a time of 26:08. Buchanan picked up the next four spots, 9-12, as Alissa Kruchkow (26:40), Ashley Best (27:10), Chelsea Adolph (27:13) and Allie Hemphill (27:36) all pushed themselves through the heat and across the finish line.
Buchanan also had Kaci Lemon 15th (32:15), Kristina Lemon 16th (32:24) and Mary Siemon 18th (35:30).
"Next week we go to Edwardsburg," Hipshear said. "It will be the same scenario with the girls as last year. They (Edwardsburg) are undefeated and we are undefeated only this year we go to their place. That will make a little bit of a difference, but I think we'll be ready for them."
In the boys' race Berrien Springs' Kyle Banish clocked in with a time of 18:20 for the overall first place finish. Despite the taking the number one finish, the Bucks edged out the Shamrocks 26-29 for the Lakeland win. The Bucks topped Coloma 17-38 to take the sweep.
"This was a big upset win for us to beat Berrien. To step up and run with our number five runner out today everyone had to step up and run a little better and get the job done. It was a remarkable performance today," Hipshear said.
Buchanan's John Borr picked up the number two spot with a time of 19:04 with the Bucks' Ricky Reith coming through with a third place finish in a time of 20:12. The Shamrocks captured the fourth spot as Ben Klug finished the course in a time of 20:18.
Buchanan locked up the victory with Jon Young 20:32 and John Kuntz 20:58 finished fifth and sixth respectively. Coloma's Kurt Schlipp completed the course in a time of 21:13 for a seventh place finish. The Bucks' Alan Morris finished the race in a time of 22:23 good enough for a 13th place.