From staff reports

PORTAGE — For the first time in his career, Dowagiac’s Chris Gantt will be competing in the MHSAA cross country state finals.

Gantt finished 14th in the Division 3 race on Saturday at Portage West Middle School with a time of 17:29.

The top three teams, plus the top 15 individuals not on those teams advance to the state meet held later this month at Michigan International Speedway.

Schoolcraft won the regional championship with 68 points, while Kalamazoo Hackett was second with 84 and Delton Kellogg third with 97. Dowagiac finished 11th as a team, while Brandywine was 12th.

Charlton Craig of Schoolcraft was the individual regional champion with a time of 16:17, while Stuart Crowell of Parchment was second with a 16:25 and Schoolcraft’s Jeremiah Barnes was third with a 16:59.

“This was a tremendous end to our team’s season,” Dowagiac coach Rob Lowe said. “On the boys’ side, we again came in 11th out of 14 teams that finished with a full squad. We are again sending one runner to state, Chris Gantt, who performed well on the course. Despite some very tough conditions today he ran a very tough race and we are really happy that he will be representing Dowagiac at the state meet.”

Chris Craft finished 65th (20:19), Jason Turner 66th (20:27), Ryne Wilming 68th (20:40), Tyler Cross 80th (21:54), Julian Marshall 85th (22:44) and Austin Jackson 86th (24:44).

Michael Robbins led the Brandywine effort with a 28th place finish and a time of 18:13. Colin Mattiford was 41st (18:48), James Pierce 75th (21:10), Evan Zacharski 81st (21:58) and Arsalan Rehman 88th (26:45).

Buchanan did not field a full team. Carsten McCarty was the top finisher for the Bucks as he ran a 19:30 to take 55th.

Schoolcraft also won the girls’ regional title with 40 points. The Eagles were led by individual champion Kristina Broekema, who ran a 19:37.

Parchment was second with 72 points and Delton-Kellogg third with 89.

Buchanan was fifth with 135 points and Dowagiac 13th with 344.

The Bucks were led by Stephanie Reith’s 17th place finish and a time of 21:57. Shanen Green was 24th, Alicia Lilley 29th, Allison Mitchell 31st, Rachel Frost 34th, Ashley Best 71st and Dara Molica 77th.

Hannah MacDonald had Dowagiac’s top finish as she ran a time of 24:32 to finish 54th.

Holly Luth was 57th (24:39), Kendra Wilson 67th (25:08), Amanda Hassle 81st (26:16), Kristina Bunn 85th (26:40), Paige Schaus 86th (26:42) and Kayla Yakim 89th (28:54).

“We competed well with many of the teams around us and had a chance for a top 10 finish as a team,” Lowe said. “We had a number of girls step up for us. Hannah MacDonald was again our No. 1 runner. Holly Luth and Kendra Wilson ran their best times of the year. When we compare today’s times to the regional times for last year, our girls’ team improved over a minute on average and the boys’ team improved as well.”

Brandywine did not field a full team. Angelika Anderson was the top finisher with a time of 23:39, which was good for 46th place.

St. Joseph won the boys’ Division 2 championship with 66 points. Otsego was second with 76 and Mattawan third with 865. Edwardsburg finished ninth with 246 points and Niles 14th with 334.

The Eddies’ Josh Clark will be making his third straight trip to the state meet after placing third on Saturday with a time of 16:29.

Mattawan’s Alex Standiford was the regional champion with a time of 15:40. Taylor Compton of Hamilton was second with a 16:10.

Ben Getz was 45th for Edwardsburg with a time of 18:24, Josh Eagleson 47th (18:26), Brandon Parsons 67th (19:07), Alan Lopez 84th (20:08), Austin Payne 95th (20:55) and Evan Zimmerman 96th (20:57).

Sam VandenHeede just missed qualifying for the state meet as he finished 17th with a time of 17:09. Matthew McLaughlin was 69th (19:19), Tate Brawley 79th (19:59), Michaal Geiger 83rd (20:06), Taylor Campbell 86th (20:10), Daniel Sierra 99th (21:18) and Nicholas Borkowski 102nd (22:03).

Hamilton was the girls’ team champion with 40 points, Otsego was second with 62 and Holland Christian third with 109.

Niles finished 12th with 314 points and Edwardsburg 15th with 459.

Zeeland West’s Rachele Schulist was the individual titlist with a time of 18:16. Molly Oren of Hamilton was second with an 18:25.

Bridgett Carpenter finished 43rd with a time of 21:44 to lead the Vikings. Anne Tyler was 58th (22:43), Maureen Craig 65th (23:09), Abigail Gaines 73rd (23:30), Libby Hein 75th (23:37), Ava McKeel 85th (24:50) and Joselyn Dlouhy 98th (27:02).

Miranda Bronicki led the Eddies with a 81st place finish and a time of 24:04. Nicole Brooks was 93rd (25:31), Kirstine Handy 94th (25:57), Lauren Brady 95th (26:01), Hannah Baylor 96th (26:01) and Jamie Richardson 99th (27:20).

Division 2

At Portage West Middle School

Boys results

Team Scores: St. Joseph 66, Otsego 76, Mattawan 85, Hamilton 159, Zeeland East 160, Holland Christian 168, Plainwell 197, Paw Paw 217, Edwardsburg 246, Lakeshore 252, Allegan 272, Zeeland West 309, Holland 334, Niles 334, South Haven 374

Top 15

1. Alex Standiford (Mattawan) 15:40; 2. Taylor Compton (Hamilton) 16:10; 3. Josh Clark (Edwardsburg) 16:29; 4. Zachary Ailes (Holland Christian) 16:41; 5. Bryan Harvey (Otsego) 16:43; 6. Tyler Steigenga (Holland Christian) 16:44; 7. Chris Pfahler (St. Joseph) 16:47; 8. Zach Verhage (Plainwell) 16:48; 9. Mitch Tiethof (Zeeland East) 16:50; 10. Thomas Meeker (Mattawan) 16:51; 11. Ryan Leahy (St. Joseph) 16:52; 12. Charlie Felton (St. Joseph) 16:57; 13. Joseph Beemer (St. Joseph) 17:00; 14. Trevor Brinn (Otsego) 17:00; 15. Luke Boulter (Plainwell) 17:00.

Girls results

Team Scores: Hamilton 40, Otsego 62, Holland Christian 109, Mattawan 127, Zeeland East 140, Zeeland West 172, Allegan 185, Plainwell 208, St. Joseph 236, Paw Paw 257, Lakeshore 305, Niles 314, Holland 337, South Haven 340, Edwardsburg 459

Top 15

1. Rachele Schulist (Zeeland West) 18:17; 2. Molly Oren (Hamilton) 18:26; 3. Cathy Coryell (Hamilton) 19:02; 4. Emily Oren (Hamilton) 19:08; 5. Taylor Smith (Otsego) 19:15; 6. Jacquelynn Overbeek (Hamilton) 19:23; 7. Makenzie Evers (Plainwell) 19:39; 8. Grace Carver (South Haven) 19:49; 9. Abby Niemiec (Zeeland East) 20:02; 10. Aziza Ahmadi (Allegan) 20:03; 11. Elley Hinkel (Mattawan) 20:05; 12. Carly Drobny (Otsego) 20:07; 13. Taylor Dannenberg (Zeeland East) 20:08; 14. Paige Koshar (Otsego) 20:11; 15. Jessie Glessner (Otsego) 20:18.

Division 3

Boys results

Team Scores: Schoolcraft 68, Kalamazoo Hackett 84, Delton-Kellogg 97, Hartford 128, Bangor 132, Watervliet 141, Bloomingdale 184, Parchment 195, Constantine 272, Lawton 272, Dowagiac 293, Brandywine 313, Berrien Springs 358

Top 15

1. Charlton Craig (Schoolcraft) 16:18; 2. Stuart Crowell (Parchment) 16:26; 3. Jeremiah Barnes (Schoolcraft) 17:00; 4. Nate Carango (Lawton) 17:04; 5. Michael Myers (Kalamazoo Hackett) 17:04; 6. Austin Ketola (Delton-Kellogg) 17:08; 7. David Sexton (Hartford) 17:10; 8. Peter Herzog (Kalamazoo Hackett) 17:15; 9. Jon Phillips (Hartford) 17:16; 10. Ryan Watson (Delton-Kellogg) 17:16; 11. Brian Larabel (Bloomingdale) 17:22; 12. Saul Saucedo (Bangor) 17:23; 13. Zach Wehner (Schoolcraft) 17:27; 14. Chris Gantt (Dowagiac) 17:29; 15. Oscar Tenoiro-Leyva (Bangor) 17:29

Girls results

Team Scores: Schoolcraft 40, Parchment 72, Delton-Kellogg 89, Kalamazoo Hackett 126, Buchanan 135, Hartford 145, Bangor 158, Berrien Springs 175, Lawton 212, Coloma 310, Constantine 320, Watervliet 330, Dowagiac 344, Galesburg-Augusta 356

Top 15

1. Krista Broekema (Schoolcraft) 19:38; 2. Madeline Hartlieb (Schoolcraft) 20:19; 3. Lauren Cody (Lawton) 20:20; 4. Jolene Drum (Delton-Kellogg) 20:26; 5. Kate Thayer (Parchment) 20:29; 6. Jessica Nave (Berrien Springs) 20:38; 7. Sarah Hartlieb (Schoolcraft) 20:45; 8. Katilee Bensley (Schoolcraft) 21:05; 9. Elena Ochoa (Kalamazoo Hackett) 21:16; 10. Molly Ireland (Parchment) 21:20; 11. Brianna Russell (Delton-Kellogg) 21:21; 12. Laura Nordquist (Parchment) 21:21; 13. Montana Hescott (Bangor) 21:21; 14. Bridget O’Toole (Kalamazoo Hackett) 21:22; 15. Lindsey Dopheide (Lawton) 21:28