THS girls third, boys fourth at SEC championship

A third place finish was recorded by Tecumseh High School’s varsity girls cross country team while the Indians’ boys finished fourth in the Southeastern Conference White Division Championship at Hudson Mills Metropark on Thursday Oct. 17.Dexter placed first with a score of 32 while Chelsea was second with 41. Tecumseh scored 84, Ypsilanti Lincoln, 96, and Adrian, 117.Hannah Weatherford led the Indians with a sixth place time of 20:17.Also representing the Indians were Jessica Tebbetts (16th, 21:01), Katie Kasper (17th, 21:09), Kristina Ziemer (19th, 21:43), Nicole Lipnichan (26th, 22:40), Emily Alderman (29, 23:00), and Kelsey Hammer (31st, 24:26).With the third place finish, the Indians placed third overall in the White Division standings.“It’s always tough competing against Dexter and Chelsea who finished in the top 25 in the state last year in Division 1 and Division 2, respectively,” said Tecumseh coach Jill Stockford. Tecumseh had three girls named to the SEC All-Conference team. Hannah Weatherford and Tebbetts were named to the first team while Kasper received an honorable mention.“The meet was run in the least favorable conditions we’ve had all season,” said Stockford. “Lots of rain and mud made the course overall slower than normal today. But that didn't stop two of the girls from having all-time PRs.”Kelsey Randolph dropped her best time by 52 seconds while Paige Otto cut her time by 1:13. The top seven girls from the meet run at Regionals on Oct. 26 at Ella Sharp Park in Jackson. In the junior varsity race, Tecumseh’s Zoe Melnyk led the Indians with a 64th place time of 23:04. Kelsey Randolph was 67th (23:06), Nicole Cote, 121st (24:43), Elyssa Hedrick, 150th (25:51) and Paige Otto, 177th (27:15).Chelsea placed first in the boys division with a score of 32 while Adrian was second with 52. Dexter finished third with 55 while the Indians were fourth with 81. Lincoln totaled 137 points.Tecumseh’s had three boys make the All-Conference team. Ben Shaw was named to the first team with his eighth place time of 17:33. Drake Vandenberg (14th, 18:00) and Jeff Case (18th, 18:08) received honorable mentions.“I was very proud to see three Tecumseh runners receiving all conference honors,” said Tecumseh head coach Eddy Foley. “I am convinced that our program is heading in the right direction.”Tecumseh’s other top seven finishers included Jarred Waite (20th, 18:22), Andrew Waite (21st, 18:32), Jack LaCasse (22nd, 18:37) and Gabe Lopez (29th, 19:17).Tecumseh JV runner Clinton Olberg earned a stop on the varsity team for the Regional race with a time of 18:44. “The team ran really well today against some very tough competition,” said Tecumseh coach Eddy Foley. “We are nearing the end of the season and coming together nicely for Regionals next Saturday.