Stockbridge State Finals Cross Country Preview
Cross country teams and runners from all over the state will be heading to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn Saturday for the MHSAA state finals and Stockbridge will be well represented at the Finals.
The boys’ cross country team qualified with a second-place finish at the Division 3 Regional that was ran at Hudson Mills Metropark, while senior girls Rylee Tolson and Brooklyn Rochow will be joining the boys’ team at the finals at MIS.
All eyes will be on Tolson as she is one of the favorites in the Division 3 to compete for a state title. She surprised everyone and won the state title in 2019 and was expected to battle for another last season. Unseasonably warm weather for the first weekend in November caused a lot of runners to struggle in the race and Rylee was one of them as she collapsed in the final home stretch and showed some true grit by crawling the last 100 yards across the finish line to finish a disappointing 173rd.
Rylee Tolson
The Division 3 race appears to be a three-horse race with Tolson, Ithaca’s Lani Bloom, and Allison Chmielewski from Roscommon the three favorites. In October, Tolson set the Stockbridge school record and ran the fastest time in Division 3 with a 17:28, but it didn’t last long as Bloom ran a blistering 17:09 in Sheppard the same day. Chmielewski has posted a 17:59 this season but has not run as many races and will be well rested heading into the finals. The weather is expected to be chilly but dry, so expect these three to battle it out for the top spot and if Rylee can keep pace with Bloom early, don’t be surprised if she brings home her second state title.
Senior Brooklyn Rochow is in just her second year of cross country and made a big splash in the last two years for the Panthers. She was a big reason the Panthers qualified for the state finals as a team in 2020. Rochow finished 107th at the state finals last season and looks to improve on that finish this season. She ran her personal best time of 19:49 in October and has been consistently in the 20:30 range all season and a time like that at MIS would put her in the top 50 within striking distance of the top 30.
Brooklyn Rochow
The boys’ team is projected for a top 10 finish at the Division 3 finals. The Panthers are currently ranked #8 in Division 3 heading into the Finals and while a state title is unlikely a top ten finish is and with some strong finishes the Panthers could push for a top 5.
The Panthers do not have the top runner that will post a low number to vault them into contention, but they do run their race and pace each other as a group.
The top three runners for the Panthers all season consistently push each other until the very end of each race.
Dalton Satkowiak, Bolton, and Collin Cook will be up front for the Panthers. Satkowiak and Bolton run neck and neck nearly every race with the two taking turns beating each other to the finish line in races all season. Satkowiak has posted a couple of scorching times with 16:45 being his fastest time this season. Bolton posted his person best time of 16:55 at the GLAC championships last week. Cook is usually right there with Satkowiak and Bolton and a finish with these three in a group could lift the Panthers up the standings. Cook posted a season best time of 17:01 at the GLAC Finals. All three a projected to finish from 25-35 place which would be a big improvement from last season when the Panthers finished 9th as a team at the Finals.
Micah Bolton, Collin Cook, and Dalton Satkowiak
What could be the biggest key for the Panthers will be the brothers Ethan and Brendan Wright. Where the Wright brothers finish will likely be the difference on whether the Panthers compete for top 10 or push for top 5 finishes.
Ethan and Brendan Wright
Fourth and fifth runners are usually the key to championship runs, because many teams with strong top four runners have missed out on top 5 finishes and championships because of a poor finish from their fifth runner. Ethan and Brendan have been the Panthers four and five runners all season. Ethan set a PR at the Stockbridge Invitational with a time of 17:46 and Brendan set a PR in the same race with an 18:09. If these two can run anywhere near their season best times, the Panthers could surprise some people in the final standings.
Senior’s Ben Chapman and Brandan Howlett will also be running for the Panthers at the Finals. Ben ran a season best of 19:12 at the GLAc Finals, while Brandon ran a season best of 19:58 at the GLAC Finals.
While a top five finish would be an amazing accomplishment, it would take nearly season bests for the all the Panthers to do so. I look for the Panthers to finish seventh at the state finals to add another top 10 finish to the long-standing history of Stockbridge cross country.
The girls will race at 10:10 AM and the boys 11:30 at MIS.
