Saint Louis guys’ and girls’ cross country teams competed at their regional meet hosted at Shepherd High School Friday Oct., 28. 

Both teams ran amazing as both groups and individually, and qualified for state on both sides.  The race was ran at a very familiar course for the athletes. It was great weather so the Sharks ran fast. 

The guys’ side brought home the first place trophy yet again. This is their fourth year in a row being regional champs. Not only did the guys win as a team, they also raced well individually. Ben March took first with a time of 16:24.9, Landon Pestrue fourth in 16:51.1, Dylan Marr seventh in 17:19.2, Colin Kuhn ninth in 17:39.1, Alex Rodriguez 10th in 17:43.5, Hayden Shattuck 15th in 18:07.1, and Dominick Gilman 29th in 19:03.5. These were very impressive times for our boys team. 

The girls fought tough and ran well coming in second place. They were seated third going into the race, but they worked together and dug deep to come in second place. Jaiden Dickman finished fifth in 19:44.3, Abby Dice 10th in 20:29.8, Laney Pestrue 20th in 21:42.9, Aeralyn Leonard 21:43.4, Payton Kuhn 25th in 21:46.2, Natalie Lemert 27th in 22:01.2, and Jenna Abell 44th in 23:55.7. The girls ran amazing and had many PR’s and season best on the day. 

Freshman Aeralyn Leanord expressed, “All the girls ran fast and together. It’s so nice to be a part of a group that supports one another and pushes each other all the way through the finish line.”

“We had a great day at Regionals. Our athletes have been putting in the work both mentally and physically. They executed well. I’m proud of them and can’t wait to see what they will accomplish down at MIS,” said Coach Puff Paff. 

The Sharks cross country team will be back in action Saturday Nov. 5, at Michigan International Speedway for the Michigan High School Athletic Association state meet.