Born to Run

Salem, Canton girls post impressive cross country victories

  Salem's girls cross country team put a strangle-hold on first place in the KLAA Central Division Tuesday afternoon when it upended South Lyon, 15-47, in a dual meet held at Willow Metropark.

  Salem improved to 4-0 in the Central with one meet remaining.

  In a show of unity, three Rocks -- Autumn Burin, Kelly Kerwin and Kara Booms -- crossed the finish line first simultaneously in 21:12.

  Victoria Tripp (21:23) placed fourth while Emily Bizon (21:23) took fifth. Other varsity runners for Salem were Jordyn Moore (seventh in 21:44) and Phoebe Van Hoof (ninth in 21:57).

CHIEFS SPRINT PAST ZEBRAS

  Canton nabbed five of the top six spots to breeze past Wayne Memorial, 20-41, Tuesday afternoon in a dual meet held at Cass Benton Park.

  The meet, which was run with a chilly, light rain, was delayed for a short time due to lightning.

  "Even the delay and poor weather conditions, the girls ran well," said Canton coach Eric Paul. "Wayne has some good runners and our girls stayed competitive with them and raced them to the finish.

  "It was nice to see some different girls run and race the Wayne team well. The conditions were terrible and the times do not indicate how well all the girls ran."

  Wayne's Holland Boertse placed first with a time of 23:26. Five Chiefs placed second through sixth: Michele Bellovary (24:07), Bree Starosciak (24:29), Ashley Cade (24:39), Andrea Rapson (25:20) and Hannah Ferree (24:46).

  After Wayne's Jennifer McCaffrey crossed the finish line in seventh place, two more Chiefs placed: Shelby Olsen (26:09) and Cassie Kramer (26:35).

  The Zebras' three final scorers were Rochelle Woods (34:22), Alana Cyrus (38:27) and Sydney Ball (38:27).