state finals: Huron's Annie-Norah Beveridge Washtenaw County's lone girls All-State runner

By Pete Cunningham Sports Director

Posted on Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 6:36 p.m.

BROOKLYN -- Twenty-ninth place at the Division 1 girls cross country state championships is not how Ann Arbor Huron’s Annie-Norah Beveridge envisioned her high school career ending. Having placed 18th as a sophomore and 23rd as a junior, Beveridge had her sites set on the top-10 as a senior.

But battling knee tendinitis and an admittedly slow start, Beveridge finished in a time of 18 minutes, 32.9 seconds and collected her third all-state medal, albeit not the one she had hoped for.

“I was happy to be able to (place), but it was a little disappointing not finishing in the top 10,” Beveridge said. “That was my goal, but all in all I’m pretty happy.”

One person not disappointed at all with the finish was Huron coach Kevin Behmer.

“She’s worked her way into what we would call an elite runner, a three time All-Stater, and that doesn’t happen by accident,” Behmer said. “She set the tone of what you have to do to achieve at a high level and has been a great example for our younger runners who hope to follow in her footsteps.”

Defending team champions, Saline, finished in seventh place, despite having no seniors on the team and no individual All-State performers at Michigan International Speedway.

“Realistically, they’re about where we had hoped,” said Saline coach Mike Smith. “We were happy with how we did all year and today.

“We don’t lose anybody out of our top 15 or so,” Smith said, already looking ahead to next year. “This year we wanted to be in the top 10 and next year we can go for it.”

More Coverage at MLive.com: Rest of the Story | D1 Results | D2 Results | D4 Results