12 Branch County runners earn All-Big 8 honors; Bronson's Hathaway, Reading's Bays win MVP

The 2022 winter sports season is almost upon us here in Branch County, meaning a tremendous season of fall sports is now in our rearview mirror.

With the end of each season comes the inevitable look back on the season that was, so with that in mind let us a take a look back at the Big 8 All-Conference honorees in cross country.

Girls Cross Country

For the first time in three decades, Union City ascended to the top of the conference, running away with the title. Union City, which has struggled to field a full team over the past decade, was dominant throughout the year in conference competition, winning each of the four jamborees in runaway fashion. Union City claimed the conference title with a score of 169 points, 130 points ahead of runner-up Concord, which took second with 299 points. Bronson finished in third place with 349 points, followed by Quincy (352), Homer (450), Jonesville (527), Reading (648) and Springport (677).

Individual honors are based on combined results throughout the season and take into account finishes at the four jamborees. Of the 11 all-conference honorees, three hailed for the conference champion Union City, two from Bronson (including the league MVP) and one from Quincy.

Leading the Union City conference championship run was the trio of Skyler Fraley, Alissa Skirka and Murcie Wallen.

Fraley capped off her second year at the varsity level with not only all-conference honors, but also a trip to the D3 state finals. Fraley finished in 115th place at the state finals in a time of 21 minutes, 27.0 seconds. Fraley’s season-best and career-best time came in the regional, when she ran her way to a state finals berth in a time of 20:44.

Wallen, a freshman, put together a solid rookie campaign, earning a number of top-10 finishes on the year. Wallen put together her season-best and career-best time at the Kalamazoo Christian Comet Invite on Oct. 22 when she ran a time of 21:34.7.

Skirka, a sophomore, capped off her first year as a team member with an all-conference honor after a season of solid success. Skirka just missed qualification for the state finals, placing 19th in the regional with a career-best time of 21:18.3.

Bronson had perhaps the two most dominant runners in the conference, as Ava Hathaway and Ashlynn Harris took the top two spots in every jamboree this season. Hathaway earned conference MVP honors, while Harris finished in second place overall in just her rookie campaign.

Hathaway, only a sophomore, earned MVP honors in her first season running cross country at any level. Hathaway finished in the top 10 in every race run this season, taking wins in three of the four Big 8 Jamborees after not competing in the final jamboree of the season due to a horse show the same day. Hathaway capped off her stellar sophomore year with a trip to the D3 state finals, where she earned all-state honors with a 14th-place finish in a personal-best time of 19:22.2.

Harris finished in second place in every Big 8 Jamboree except for the final one held at Reading, where she took the gold medal with a time of 21:37.7. Harris finished off her first season at the high school level by earning her way to the state finals, placing 71st with a time of 20:55.9. Harris recorded a season-best and career-best time of 20:05.7 seconds on Oct. 15 in a second-place finish at the Sturgis Kiwanis Invite.

Quincy was represented by Charlotte Crabbs, who capped off a solid sophomore campaign with her first all-league honors. Crabbs improved throughout the season, her second at the high school level, turning in a personal-best performance back on Oct. 11 when she ran a time of 22:16.0 at the Big 8 Jamboree in Quincy. Crabbs finished in eighth place.

Also earning all-conference honors were Riley Adams and Cieara Barrett of Concord, Megan Sterly of Homer and Saige Patterson of Springport.

Big 8 Boys Cross Country

The race for the Big 8 boys cross country championship was essentially a one-team race, as Jonesville ran away with the crown. Jonesville won all four jamboree this season, finishing the year with a total team score of 240 points. Concord finished in second place with 309 points, followed by Bronson in third place with 330 points. Union City (402) was fourth, followed by Reading (457), Homer (485), Quincy (584) and Springport (832).

Among the 11 all-conference honorees, six hail from Branch County, including two each from Bronson, Quincy and Union City.

Bronson's third-place effort this season was paced by the all-conference senior duo of Ashton Wells and Aden Hathaway.

Hathaway capped off a stellar four-year career as a Viking runner and finished the year with a season-best time of 17:31.4 seconds at the Hudson Booster Invite.

Wells finished off a tremendous four-year career at the D3 state finals, qualifying as an individual. Wells finished in 80th place in a time of 17:37.7 seconds and clocked a season-best time of 17:27.6 at the regional.

Quincy was represented by Reif Squared, as cousins Jacob and Rhett Reif both earned all-conference honors in their senior seasons.

Rhett Reif battled injuries throughout the year but appeared to peak at the right time, earning a trip to the D3 state finals as an individual after finishing 10th at the regional with a season-best time of 17:19.9. Reif finished off his career with a 101st-place finish at the state finals, running a time of 17:51.4.

Jacob Reif finished off an impressive four-year career with his all-conference honor, turning in a season-best time of 17:51.5 at the regional. Reif finished near the front of each Big 8 Jamboree this season.

The resurgent Union City program boasted two all-conference honorees this season in freshman Ben Gautsche and sophomore Jason Shoop.

Gautsche made an immediate impact in his rookie season, not only earning all-conference honors but also earning a trip to the D3 state finals. Gautsche finished 57th at state with a time of 17:23.5. Gautsche’s best time of the season came on Oct. 22 at the Kalamazoo Christian Comet Invite when he broke 16 minutes for the first time in his career, taking seventh place in 16:56.9.

Shoop put together his best race of the year on Oct. 22 at the Kalamazoo Christian Comet Invite, finishing in a career-best time of 17:00.9.

The Most Valuable Player award went to Reading senior Tyler Bays, who finished in the top spot in all but two events this year. Bays won every race en route to the D4 state finals, where he earned all-state honors with a fifth-place finish, finishing in 16:17. Bays put forth his best season time on Nov. 12 when he ran at the MITCA Michigan Meet of Champions, where he placed 42nd in a time of 15:51.

Also earning all-conference honors were Adair Artis and Isaac Waldron of Concord and David Fowler and Gavin VanKampen of Jonesville.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Introducing the All-Big 8 Conference cross country honorees