Dexter boys runners up in Division 1; Chelsea's Bryce Bradley runner up in Division 2
Chelsea's Bryce Bradley pulls ahead of Divine Child's Nicholas Soter during the final stretch of the Division 2 state meet. Bradley finished second in 15 minutes, 27 seconds.
Lauren Wood | Jackson Citizen Patriot
The scene was a stark contrast to the high fives and chest bumps the runners were exchanging in elation at the end of the race.
“They’re kind of being hard on themselves because of how close we came to first,” said Dexter coach David Testa. “They should be incredibly proud. I’m thrilled with what they were able to accomplish."
Dexter’s top five runners all had personal best times and Taylor Neely finished in 11th place with a time of 15 minutes, 42.2 seconds for All-State honors. Alexey Vermeulen (15:44.3) also took All-State honors individually with a 15th-place finish.
The Dreadnaughts were runners-up in Division 2 last year and didn’t miss a beat despite moving up to what is widely regarded a more competitive field.
“They were the ones who held themselves to a higher standard, “ Testa said. “They said, ‘Yeah, it’s Division 1, but we can still be competitive,’ and they showed it here today."
Dexter’s top five runners all had personal best times and Taylor Neely finished in 11th place with a time of 15 minutes, 42.2 seconds for All-State honors. Alexey Vermeulen (15:44.3) also took All-State honors individually with a 15th-place finish.
The Dreadnaughts were runners-up in Division 2 last year and didn’t miss a beat despite moving up to what is widely regarded a more competitive field.
“They were the ones who held themselves to a higher standard, “ Testa said. “They said, ‘Yeah, it’s Division 1, but we can still be competitive,’ and they showed it here today."
Dexter has succeeded all year by finishing as a pack. For example, at last week’s regional race the Dreadnaughts top five runners finished and placed 1, 3, 5 and 6. Catholic Central embodied the same pack mentality on Saturday, however, with its top three runners placing eighth, ninth and 10th.
“We were shooting for top three, but when we saw how close we were to first we …,” said Neely trailing off, clearly proud of the accomplishment, but hoping for even more.
More Coverage at MLive.com: Rest of the Story | D1 Results | D2 Results | D3 Results | D4 Results
Comments
stunhsif
Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 8:09 a.m.
This was the strongest field of runners in 7 years for the Division 1 boys race. Saline fielded their fastest team in their history and finished 5th. Three years ago with a slower team they finished in second place. Saline loses only their number 2 runner, returning 6 of their top 7. Pinckney loses 4 of 6, believe Dexter loses two of 6? Novi/Detroit Catholic Central recruits their runners from across the state which is rather unfair from a competitive standpoint.
Coach Goffee
Sun, Nov 7, 2010 : 9:02 a.m.
Congratulations Dexter Boys x-country, you were 2nd to a school that draws kid's from all over the area, and offers scholarships to a lot of those athletes. Consider yourselves champions, because in the true picture of it all. It's not really a level playing field when one team can recruit and the other cannot. Great job.