Teri Tune
Sports Scene

The Birch Run girls cross country team is off to a strong start this season.

The Lady Panthers competed in the Chesaning Invitational at Showboat Park, where they finished seventh with a team score of 171.

Leading the way for Birch Run was Allison Dorr with a time of 21:52.5.  She was followed by teammates Courtney Dykema with a time of 22:08.0, Kaylee Dykema 22:36.6, Jessica Burgess 24:15.1, Ashley Hogan 25:35.8, Katie Diffin 25:40.2, and Jennifer Morrish 25:47.8.

“Our girls are doing great this season. We just competed at Bad Axe, where most of the girls had their best times,” head coach Caitlyn Beiser said. “Allison Dorr is usually my top runner, and the Dykema twins are usually two and three. A big surprise this year has been Jessica [Burgess]. She is a sophomore and this is her first year running. She has been plagued with an injury and is still finishing in the number four spot.”

“I had my personal best time today,” said Burgess. ”It was my goal to make varsity my first year running and it’s been a lot of fun. Now I want to get my time down to 21.0; that’s where I would like to be by the end of my first season.”

The entire team is looking for improvement this season.

“The girls are self-motivated, and they want to go out there and do well and work every day to lower their times,” Beiser said. “Our biggest challenge is trying to stay healthy. If we can do that I think we will finish good.”

The boys team also competed at the Chesaning Invitational, where they finished seventh with a team score of 208.

Leading the way for the guys was Noah Knutson with a time of 19:30.3 followed by Nick Doyon 20:12.9, Matt Remenecz 20:39.7, Jeffrey Ayling 20:56.0, Jordan Inman 21:47.9, Donovan Zietz 23:03.8, and Shane Perrin 24:00.9.

“We are in a rebuilding phase this year,” coach Rodger Rothe said.

“We graduated a bunch of guys last year, and with them went our experience. We have one senior on the team this year, but it’s his first year. We also have three freshmen on the varsity team,” said coach Rothe.

“My two guys that are leading the pack this year are Knutson and Doyon. Both of these guys worked really hard during the summer and I’m looking for them to help lead the team.”

Coach Rothe knows that it’s going to take a lot of hard work from his guys to reach the goals he’s set for them.

“This year we are working on dropping our times and our speed to make us more competitive by the end of the season. I would like to get two guys to states, and if we can accomplish that I will consider it a successful year.”