The Sharks competed at the Greater Lansing Invitational Saturday, Oct. 10, at Grand Ledge. This meet is usually one of the biggest races of the season, but due to COVID-19, races were split so only 10 teams competed at a time. The Sharks still found a way to push themselves despite the lowered level of competition.

The boys’ team took first in the Division Three race with a score of 38. Earning medals for St. Louis were Aaron Bowerman in second place with a 16:50.2 finish, Ben March in fifth with a 17:09.9, Keegan Honig in sixth with a time of 17:15.0, and Nate March in ninth with a 17:40.3 finish. Next for the Sharks were Joe Erickson (18:21.0) in 16th, Alex Davis (18:42.5) finishing in 20th, and Dylan Marr (19:13.5) in 30th.

Bowerman stated, “We went out there, and we ran. It was a hard course and a tough finish, and we powered through it and did what we had to do. And when we did that, we won. This shows that our team is ready to perform at a high level…and other teams better watch out.”

The girls’ team placed third with a score of 82. Mikenna Borie led the Sharks in second place with a time of 19:37.8, and Jaiden Dickman finished 10th with a time of 20:53.5. Both girls earned medals for their top-ten finishes. Next up was Monika Borie in 17th place with a 21:56.4, Laney Pestrue in 26th with a time of 23:00.4, Sela Delgado in 29th with a 23:29.0, and Payton Kuhn in 31st place with a 23:36.6 finish.

The course was hilly, and the weather wasn’t ideal, so not many runners ran personal records (PR) this meet. However, senior Alex Davis was the sole Shark who achieved one by running a two-second PR. He shared, “Once the race started and we were at the mile and I saw my time, I knew that if I could keep up with the pace, then I knew I could PR.”

St. Louis will be back to racing Tuesday, Oct. 13, at Carrollton High School for its third and final TVC Jamboree.