HAMBURG — When the meets get bigger and the pressure intensifies, Brighton junior Lydia LaMarra is at her best.
She established her reputation as a clutch performer last year when she won the Kensington Lakes Activities Association and regional meets before earning all-state with a 21st-place finish and personal-best performance in the state Division 1 finals.
LaMarra is in her element in championship season, which got underway Thursday with the KLAA meet at Manly Bennett Park.
She didn’t repeat as KLAA champion, but sge ran the second-fastest time of her three-year career to finish second to Livonia Stevenson senior Kaelin Hughes in 18 minutes, 33.4 seconds, leading Brighton to a third-straight team championship.
“I’ve been very consistent in these big meets,” LaMarra said. “Today was kind of a breakthrough for me. I’m starting to finally chip away at my time. I’m really excited for the next two races to see what I can do.”
LaMarra is the least of her coach’s worries as the fifth-ranked Bulldogs prepare for regionals Oct. 26 at Springfield Oaks County Park in Davisburg and the state finals Nov. 2 at Michigan International Speedway.
“Lydia is your constant,” Brighton coach Kristi Matuszewski said. “She always can be counted on. She’s a great racer. I want to continue to build her confidence because she can do another step and another step in these next two races. I want her to do that to pull her team along in the process.”
LaMarra’s time was a season best after running three of Brighton’s biggest invitationals in 18:46, give or take a few tenths of a second. Her personal best of 18:28.7 came in last year’s state meet.
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She won the KLAA meet in 18:49.6 last year under sloppy conditions at Howell High School, running down Northville’s Cassie Garcia for the victory. LaMarra picked off runners throughout the race Thursday but couldn't run down Hughes, who won in 18:24.4 after placing ninth in the KLAA meet last season.
“I kind of just like to run my own race, put myself in a box and not worry about anyone else,” LaMarra said. “Last year, I was able to pull out a win, which was awesome. This year, I got close, which I still think is pretty awesome.”
With LaMarra leading the way, Brighton had six of the top 14 runners to beat runner-up Northville, 43-81.
Juliet Lewis was seventh (18:59.0), Ella Lorenz ninth (19:00.6), Elle Bissett 12th (19:14.0), Courtney Lince 13th (19:18.1) and Maizie Cavanaugh 14th (19:22.3) for Brighton.
“This is the best part of the season, the last three,” Matuszewski said. “I’m excited to go for regionals and punch our ticket to the state meet and hopefully really show up and do some damage in both places.
“We’ve had some hiccups with some injuries. I love seeing other people step up. This is a total team effort. They’ve really come along and helped each other, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Hartland was fourth and Howell 11th. Hartland’s Ava Goodman was 10th in 19:06.4.
The boys meet featured four of the top five teams in Division 1.
Two-time defending state champion and No. 1-ranked Northville dominated the state’s toughest cross country league, winning by a 36-68 margin over third-ranked Brighton.
Fourth-ranked Livonia Churchill was third with 93, 14th-ranked Plymouth fourth with 103 and fifth-ranked Canton fifth with 130.
Brighton senior Tyler Brock worked his way through the pack to finish second in a personal-best 15:32.5, vaulting him from No. 8 to No. 4 on the Bulldogs’ all-time list behind Jack Spamer (14:48.1), Zach Stewart (15:07.1) and Tyler Langley (15:25.5).
“I never expected to be here, but I’m so grateful for it,” said Brock, who ran 26:03 on the same course in his high school debut in 2021 .
Brock was able to catch everyone except Canton junior Aiden Pengelly, who ran away with the individual championship in 15:13.0.
“I started toward the front in the beginning, then I kind of got dropped by a little pack of a few,” Brock said. “There was that one guy (Pengelly) who was way out in the lead. Eventually, I kind of worked my way back up.
“Around the last 800 or 1,200 meters, I caught my way back up and started passing the guys. I took it one step at a time. I didn’t know if I was going to have the energy to make it to the finish, but I pushed through.”
Howell sophomore Jack MacGregor was fourth in 15:34.5. Senior Brady Millington was 10th in 15:59.1, and junior Zach Wyderko was 14th in 16:06.1 for Brighton.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Led by big-meet specialist, Brighton 3-peats as KLAA girls cross country champ
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