Blue-tiful day

Salem girls cross country team continues to rake in accolades at conference meet

  Back in August, Salem girls cross country coach Dave Gerlach figured this year's team was going to be good, but this good?

  "No, I didn't see this coming," Gerlach admitted Thursday night, a few hours after the Rocks captured the KLAA Kensington Conference title at Kensington Metropark.

  Five Rocks turned in top-16 performances as Salem compiled 55 points, eight less than runner-up Northville. Pre-meet favorite Livonia Churchill placed third with 66 points.

  Plymouth turned in a solid fifth-place showing with 137 points while Canton placed seventh with 159 points.

  Led by Victoria Tripp's fifth-place effort in 19:29, a quartet of Rocks broke the 20-minute barrier on a course that is relatively flat with the exception of one challenging hill that the runners have to climb twice. Senior Jordyn Moore was 10th in 19:50, freshman Shannon Flynn placed 11th in 19:51 and sophomore Kelly Kerwin was 13th in 19:54.

  Also scoring for the Rocks was Kara Booms, who placed 16th in 20:07.

  Autumn Burin (35th in 21:02) and Ade Jepperson (44th in 21:15) also ran well for the champions.

  "I am extremely proud of this team," said Gerlach, who said defending champion Churchill was the pre-meet favorite. "They're so coachable, they work hard and they have fun at the same time.

  "I figured that we were one of four teams that had a chance to win, Churchill, Northville and Novi being the others, but I knew the girls would have to run very well to win. Our strategy going in was to be under control. I wanted them to run their race and not worry about the other teams, and they followed that strategy to a 'T'."

  The Rocks have come a long way in one year. They placed a distant fifth at last year's inaugural KLAA Kensington Conference meet.

  "We kind of came out of nowhere this year," said Gerlach. "This team works, they listen and they want it."

  While Salem may have been a darkhorse heading into this year's conference meet, that won't be the case next year as six of the Rocks' top seven runners return.

Ed Wright can be reached at info@plymouthcantonsports.com or (734) 453-1980.