Cross country: Howell's Mackenzie Wright breaks 19:00 in Jackson
Howell senior Mackenzie Wright became the first Livingston County girl to break 19 minutes in cross country this season, blowing past the barrier with a time of 18 minutes, 42.6 seconds in the Jackson Invitational at Ella Sharp Park.
Wright finished eighth out of 181 runners in a race that featured six of the top 11 teams in the latest state Division 1 rankings. It’s the 11th time in her career that Wright has broken 19 minutes.
Howell finished 10th out of 23 teams with 289 points, while Hartland was 13th with 318. Second-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer won with 71.
Sophia Nunnery was 34th in 19:45.2, Alexandra Cabaj 48th in 20:01.9 and Elliana Neuer 49th in 20:04.1 for Hartland. Howell’s Mia Cholewa was 56th in 20:12.4.
In the boys meet, Hartland was 15th with 389 points and Howell 16th with 418. Ann Arbor Skyline was first out of 22 teams with 124 points.
Hartland’s Ben Smith was 29th in 16:29.3 and Howell’s Noah DeLand was 43rd in 16:45.4.
Mott Fall Classic
Pinckney, ranked No. 6 in Division 2, finished third with 119 points in a 21-team race comprised mainly of Division 1 schools. Clarkston had 97 points and Utica 107 at Waterford’s Hess Hathaway Park, the site of Pinckney’s regional meet.
Pinckney had three of the top seven runners in Evan Loughridge (third, 16:06.4), Zach DeBeauclair (fifth, 16:27.16) and Ethan Sandula (seventh, 16:32.53). Paul Moore was 21st in 16:34.76 for the Pirates.
Mt. Brighton Invite
Brighton swept Livonia Churchill and Livonia Franklin in a three-team meet.
Brighton’s points had the first five runners to score a perfect 15 points. Churchill was second with 51 and Franklin third with 74.
Tyler Langley was first in 16:59.2, Brady Matuszewski second in 16:59.4, Luke Campbell third in 17:36.1, Dylan White fourth in 17:36.9 and Bode Cooper fifth in 17:41.0 for the Bulldogs.
Brighton had the top three girls to finish with 22 points. Franklin had 40 and Churchill 76.
Carrigan Eberly was first in 20:27.4, Juliet Lewis second in 20:49.1 and Megan Kowalski third in 20:53.6 for Brighton.
Linden Classic
Hartland sent its junior varsity teams to run against varsity squads, finishing fourth in the Division I-II boys and girls races.
Wyatt Shaw was 23rd in 18:51.8 and Jack Costa 24th in 19:05.4 for Hartland’s boys.
Madeline Samborski was 14th in 22:26.5, Ellie Laier 16th in 22:40.5 and Madison Armstrong 17th in 22:45.8 for Hartland’s girls.
Whitmore Lake Invite
Charyl Stockwell had two runners break 18 minutes for the first time in school history.
Junior Anthony Urbaniak was fifth in a personal-best 17:51.3, the Sentinels’ second-fastest time ever. Senior Raymond Rogers was sixth in 17:56.3.
Stockwell was sixth out of 11 teams with 144 points. Erie Mason won with 52.
In the girls race, Savannah Ricketts was 15th in 23:42.9 and Ella Heffner 16th in 23:43.7 for Stockwell. Livingston Christian’s Ezrielle Martin, an eighth-grader, was 20th in 23:50.9.
Fowlerville Decamp Ekiden
The boys from Capital Homeschool took first place in 25:56 in a unique five-runner relay over 8,000 meters. Eaton Rapids was second in 26:54.
Williamston’s girls won in 31:42. Milford was second in 32:50.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Cross country: Howell's Mackenzie Wright breaks 19:00 in Jackson
