Behind champion Joey Bowman, St. Johns boys run to repeat at Greater Lansing Championships
GRAND LEDGE - Joey Bowman wanted to do all he possibly could to succeed to have a big final season.
The preparations made by the St. Johns senior have helped him do just that.
Bowman has owned the top time among area boys runners this season and he backed that up with a strong performance Saturday, claiming the individual title at the Greater Lansing Cross Country Championships at Ledge Meadows. Bowman won by just over 17 seconds in 15:49.4 and, in the process, helped the Redwings repeat as the team champions at the event.
"It means a lot to win this race," said Bowman, who became the first Redwings boys runner to claim the individual title at the Greater Lansing meet. "Running it my freshman year ,I had a good result and I had (winning) this on my mind ever since. Last year went well. I knew I was a favorite coming into it (this year), but it was fun to compete and it was fun to compete as a team, too."
The victory was the latest improved finish by Bowman at the meet. He finished 29th at the event as a freshman while running for Everett. Competing in the meet for the first time last season with St. Johns, Bowman placed fourth before taking the top spot this season.
Saturday also marked Bowman's seventh race win this season. He's had times under 16 minutes in each of his eight races this fall, with a season-best mark of 15:30.
"He's obviously had a great season,".St. Johns coach Bob Sackrider said. "The times speak for themselves. He's No. 1 on our record board now and he's had the most races below 16 (minutes) in school history. More than that, he's just been a great leader. The times are the times, but he has never operated like he's better than anybody else on the team. He tries to bring everybody along with him.
"He just truly embodies the ideas of running. He devours what other runners are doing at the high school level and college level and he just lives the life."
More:Lansing Catholic's CC Jones, Okemos girls win at Greater Lansing Cross Country Championships
Bowman was one of three runners to finish in the top 10 for the Redwings as they claimed the team title with a score of 113 points. Junior Isaac Staib was third in 16:19.71, while senior Tyler Dohm placed 10th in 16:44.26.Junior Matthew Schrauben was 23rd for the Redwings.
"This is really a big deal for us because this is our third in a row, although 2020 was a little goofy with the way it was set up," Sackrider said. "It's our third in a row and we've done it with different guys. There's nobody that was there for all three. We've been able to plug in new runners and had people step up and that's what you want to do. That's when you're truly a good team is when you can have that."
Okemos was the runner-up with 149 points, while East Lansing took third with 167 points. St. Louis and Howell rounded out the top five.
Pewamo-Westphalia’s Collin Farmer was the individual runner-up and finished in 16:06.45, while DeWitt’s Nolan Inglis was fourth and Williamston’s Camden Johnecheck took fifth.
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.
Greater Lansing Cross Country Championships
Top 10 individuals
1. Joey Bowman, St. Johns – 15:49.35
2. Collin Farmer, Pewamo-Westphalia – 16:06.45
3. Isaac Staib, St. Johns – 16:19.71
4. Nolan Inglis, DeWitt – 16:22.16
5. Camden Johnecheck, Williamston – 16:22.79
6. Thomas Larson, Alma – 16:24.15
7. Koda Brandt, Charlotte – 16:27.41
8. Alex Doneth, Mason – 16:31.79
9. Ben March, St. Louis – 16:41.03
10. Tyler Dohm, St. Johns – 16:44.26
Top 10 teams
1. St. Johns – 113
2. Okemos – 149
3. East Lansing – 167
4. St. Louis – 201
5. Howell – 210
6. Grand Ledge – 232
7. Mason – 257
8. Alma – 257
9. Pewamo-Westphalia – 269
10. Saranac - 286
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This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Greater Lansing Cross Country meet: Joey Bowman, St Johns win titles
