No switcheroo this time: Hartland girls end long state cross country drought

DAVISBURG — Matt Gutteridge learned not to trust his own eyes when it came to close results at a regional cross country meet.

Two years ago, the Hartland coach thought his girls team qualified for the state meet because the live scoring system showed the Eagles narrowly beating Dexter.

Then a mistake was discovered that flipped that result, depriving Hartland of a trip to the state meet.

So, it’s no wonder that when the live results showed Hartland edging Dexter, of all teams, by one point for the final berth in the Division 1 finals, Gutteridge was skeptical.

“Can I go celebrate?” a cautious Gutteridge asked a meet official as results were being verified.

Yes, coach — this time it’s OK.

Hartland qualified for the state meet for the first time since 2011 by edging Dexter for third place, 85-86, in the regional meet Saturday at Springfield Oaks County Park. Hartland and Ann Arbor Skyline had the same point total, but Skyline won the tie-breaker for second place.

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With a state finals berth coming down to another close race with Dexter, it’s no wonder the scar tissue from 2022 left Gutteridge cautious before announcing the result to his runners.

“That’s the plus and minus of live scoring,” he said. “A couple years ago, live scoring it looks like we win. They missed a runner in live scoring; Dexter ended up going. This year, they had actually double-checked everything. I got it confirmed and, yep, we’re in.”

The Eagles put themselves in a position to qualify by placing three runners in the top 13, with Ava Goodman finishing fifth in 19:06.25, Elliana Neuer sixth in 19:06.85 and Sophia Nunnery 13th in 19:21.47.

Then came the wait for the final two scoring runners to cross. Camden Essenmacher took 29th in 20:38.28 before senior Zoe Howard surged past Gwenn Stotts-Walshe of Skyline at the finish line to take 34th in 20:56.35 and send Hartland to Michigan International Speedway next Saturday.

It’s only the third time since 1985 that Hartland has qualified.

“We worked so hard for this,” said Goodman, an individual state qualifier last year. “To see it actually pay off, it’s so exciting just to be with the people I spend so much time with.

“It was so nerve-racking, because we had no idea. A couple years ago, our team was told we were going to make it. Then they were told we actually didn’t. That was so sad for them. This year, we actually did it and it was so exciting.”

The end of Hartland’s state finals drought is one of several big stories for Livingston County teams in the Division 1 regional.

Here are the others:

More history for Jack MacGregor

Howell sophomore Jack MacGregor continues to achieve things that require digging into the record books.

By taking first place in 15:42.22, MacGregor became the first Howell runner to win a regional championship since Dave Kuritar in 1983.

MacGregor ran most of the race with Brighton senior Tyler Brock and Dexter senior Julian Linebaugh before launching an uphill kick about 200 meters from the finish. Brock was second in 15:46.12 and Linebaugh third in 15:51.83.

“Last year, I was on a little decline toward the end of my season,” MacGregor said. “Earlier this season, I won at Holly, so I knew this was my course. I was a little more familiar with it. The Brighton and Dexter guys, they had a great race. The plan was to just sit on them and kick at the hill, because I know that’s my strong suit. It means a lot. Hopefully, I’ve got more to come in the future.”

For Brock, it was a big improvement from placing ninth at regionals in 16:29.2 on the same course last year.

“I was trying to go for the dub, but MacGregor had a great kick at the end,” Brock said.

Howell had two other individual state qualifiers in Lucas Wood (18th) and Anna Halliday (25th).

Repeat performance by Lydia LaMarra

In the history of Brighton’s girls program, 10 runners have won regional championships.

Junior Lydia LaMarra is the first to repeat at regionals, winning in a personal-best 18:19.09.

LaMarra held back early, running in sixth place at the mile mark before closing the gap on Grand Blanc all-stater Grace Tykocki. Tykocki was second to LaMarra for the second straight year , finishing in 18:23.32.

“I never would have seen this coming,” LaMarra said. “Last year, I was shocked when I won regionals. This year, I was so happy I was able to do it again. I felt a little pressure, just because I know people know I won it last year. People would be looking at me. I just told myself to run your own race.”

Brighton teams dominate

For the second year in a row, Brighton swept the boys and girls team regional championships.

The girls won their fourth straight title and earned their 44th finals appearance in 47 years, scoring 29 points. It was Brighton’s lowest point total since scoring 28 in 2002.

The Bulldogs’ seven runners placed in the top 17 and would have all qualified individually if the team didn’t advance. Elle Bissett was fourth (18:55.14), Elle Lorenz seventh (19:10.98), Courtney Lince eighth (19:11.32) and Maizie Cavanaugh ninth (19:11.46) to complete Brighton’s scoring.

“Today was, ‘Let’s do our job, let’s get to state,’ but I also wanted to work on things we want to work on at state, like running hard in the middle,” Brighton coach Kristi Matuszewski said. “But these girls exceeded my expectations. They were so strong in their team unity and just fantastic.”

The boys won their sixth regional championship in seven years while qualifying for the ninth consecutive season. Brighton scored 39 points to easily outdistance runner-up Dexter by 53.

Howell missed the cut by one place, taking fourth with 118.

Brady Millington was fifth (16:10.64), Tyler Outlaw seventh (16:14.03), Blake Kulesza 11th (16:30.79) and Zach Wyderko 14th (16:33.79) to round out Brighton’s score.

“Coming into it, we told them our only goal is to get out and whatever happens is sort of icing on the cake,” Brighton coach Chris Elsey said. “It’s nice to come out with a win and have good feelings going into MIS.”

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: No switcheroo this time: Hartland girls end long state cross country drought