The mens cross country team as a unit and Peyton Witt on the women’s side competed at the state cross country meet at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, November 3rd.

The men’s team finished 25th in the state with a team score of 555. Leading the pack was senior Luke Daniel, who finished in 64th place with a time of 16:35. “It’s more about the team than actually the place, I have a special bond with my team and I’m sad that our season is over,” he said.

Following Daniel to the finish in scoring position were senior Connor Clemens running 17:17, senior Max Rathburn running 17:21, freshman Drew Gonzalez running 17:32,and  junior Matt Schieber running 17:36. Juniors Kanishk Madhav and Roberts Kalnins also ran for the Huskies, finishing in 18:11 and 18:35 respectively.

Runners faced less than ideal conditions, but that didn’t stop them from enjoying the experience. “The atmosphere was nothing I’ve ever experienced before because it was my first time running at States. The course was extremely muddy, the first mile was fast, but after that my calves were dead. We were the last division to run,” said Clemens.

On the women’s side, Witt finished 57th with a time of 19:10. She will now start looking ahead to track season, where she will be defending regional championships in both the 1600 and 3200 meter races.