By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
BUCHANAN – A pair of Lady Bucks hope to be in the hunt for a strong finish to their cross country seasons today.
Buchanan sophomores Torrie Eger and Elizabeth Hein will compete in the Division 3 State Cross Country championships today at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
Eger finished eighth on Saturday at the Division 3 regional at West Portage Middle School, while teammate Hein earned a 12th place finish.
The pair ran times of 20:25.2 and 21:06.4 respectively to advance to the state meet.
The Division 3 girls' race is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.
The first race of the day will be the Division 4 girls' race at 10 a.m.
Following the Division 3 girls' race will be the Division 4 and Division 3 boys' races respectively.
The awards ceremony for both divisions will be held at approximately 12:15 p.m.
Eger and Hein are headed back to the finals after competing last year as Buchanan qualified its entire team.
The Lady Bucks finished third at the regional in 2006.
Eger finished 20th at the state meet with a time of 19:28.9, while Hein was 129th with a clocking of 21:40.9.
Coach Bruce Hipshear is extremely proud of his two runners, although he, along with Eger and Hein said they were a little disappointed that the entire team didn't qualify this year.
"They have been dynamite all year," Hipshear said. "They are perfect kids every day in practice, they work harder than anybody else does. It's really nice to see two girls that work so hard get rewarded."
Eger and Hein both said their goal for this meet is to improve on their places and times from a year ago.
They also said that they are excited about getting another opportunity to run in the state finals.
"It kind of messes up your mind, because you think the race is really short, but once you get on the track you realize its longer." Hein said. "You have to have enough energy left to run that curve."
"You just have to pass everybody because their are so many people," Eger added, who says her strategy is to make a move at the start of the race. "You just have to try to get in front of everybody."
Hein noted that she likes to make a move toward the end of the race.
"It pretty much the same," Hein answered when asked if this year was more exciting than 2006. "It's still exciting. It's still fun."
Hipshear said that it is tough for the girls to leave the rest of their teammates behind.
"They go through all season, the blood, sweat and tears with their teammates and then the biggest race of the year, they have to leave them behind," he said. "I know they are a little disappointed in that, but I think they will represent us well."
It's been a great year for the Lady Bucks cross country program, but not beating Edwardsburg in their Lakeland Conference dual meet was a little disappointing.
Buchanan did come back to earn a share of the league championship by winning the conference meet back in October.
If they reach their goals of bettering their times and positions at the state finals, they will certainly agree that 2007 was a successful campaign.