Cross country: Girls state finals

Rochester's Megan Goethals saves her best for last

Justin Souva / Special to The Detroit News

Brooklyn, Mich. -- Megan Goethals had won a state title before. In fact, she did so last season. But she saved her best performance for Saturday.

The Rochester senior set a state record with a time of 16:54.8 and blew away the Division 1 field in the cross country finals at Michigan International Speedway.

"This is what I've been working for all season," Goethals said. "I think it's a lot of adrenaline and just knowing that this is what I've worked for."

There was a persistent wind throughout the day, and Goethals said the weather became a factor, especially in the "painful" final mile.

"I didn't want to let that affect what I wanted to do," she said. "I kind of just still went after it. It made it harder, but I just tried to not think about it."

Goethals led from the start and said she looked back only once. The next fastest was Hartland freshman Avery Evenson in 18:10.3. No other girl in any division broke 17 minutes.

While it was a repeat performance on the individual side, Saline won the team title for the first time with 141 points, ahead of second-place Rockford (192).

Freshmen Hannah Meier, Haley Meier and Christina Firl helped lead Grosse Pointe South to third (212), its best finish.

Division 2

The best race of the day might have been between seniors Taylor Pougue of Goodrich and Lauren Grunewald of East Grand Rapids.

Pougue held a large lead, only to relinquish it to Grunewald near the 3-mile mark. But Pougue regained the top spot to take the title in 18:11, seven seconds ahead of Grunewald.

"I don't have a good kick compared to a lot of girls, so I wanted to go out fast and get a good lead," said Pougue, who admitted she was nervous when passed. "I got to fight for it. I was passed, got adrenaline and finally just kicked it in."

East Grand Rapids (96) held off Hamilton (108) for its second consecutive title.

Division 3

Devan John said she believes running is more of a natural skill than one that's learned, and it's tough to argue someone who has been so successful.

The Allendale senior won her third consecutive title in a time of 18:30.6, more than a half-minute faster than anyone else in the field.

"It's just God-given talent," said John, whose team finished second (74) to Hanover-Horton (63). "Our whole team has been blessed.

"I don't think that people just come out of nowhere and run well."

Division 4

It didn't have a dominating performance from any one individual, but Harbor Springs was consistent enough (66) to win its second title in a row. Manton (96) was runner-up.

Harbor Springs had four finish all-state, and coach Emily Kloss said competitiveness among teammates is what pushed them to the top. She said it was a tough year to make varsity.

"They knew they had to be focused," Kloss said. "They had to run well and run strong in order to make the top seven. It's competitiveness, but it's nothing nasty at all."

Senior Jessica Hall, Kloss said, is a perfect example. She didn't make the title team last season, but worked hard to earn a spot this year. Hall was fifth on the team in 21:00.7.

Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart senior Bridget Bennett won her second straight individual title in 18:35.9.

Justin Souva is a freelance writer.