Sports
Ferndale Cross Country Team Ready For Regionals
The Eagles hoping to cap off successful season by qualifying runners for state finals this weekend.
The Ferndale varsity boys and girls cross-country team is running towards the finish line.
On Saturday, the Eagles will be one of 19 teams running in the Division 2 regional at Metro Beach. Runners from Ferndale will be competing with teams including Country Day, Andover, Lahser, Hazel Park and Lamphere for a spot at the state finals in two weeks at the Michigan International Speedway.
Ferndale coach Rick Piornack is hopeful he will have at least a couple of competitors headed to Brooklyn for the race.
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“We always taper, peak, very well as a team and always drop significant time as the championship meets approach,” Piornack said.
The team has dropped an average of 38 seconds off their times from the beginning of the year.
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Piornack said he could see anywhere from one to four of his male athletes – junior Leo Kopack, sophomore Michael Murray, sophomore Josh Hughes and junior Darrell Strong-Staple - making it through to the finals.
The group has helped Ferndale stay competitive in the Oakland Activities Blue division. Kopack and Murray earned All-League honors this year for their performance within the division.
“We have been the highest finishing ‘small’ school (Division 2) in every (OAA Blue) league meet thus far,” Piornack said. “We had the individual champion (Kopack) at Hanson's Cross-Country Invitational and numerous individual top-ten finishes throughout the season.”
Piornack called his junior and sophomore class a solid “foundation” for the team to build on.
He said his sophomore class is one of the strongest he’s ever had. On the girls side, he also has a pair of freshman - Sarah Brazeau and Tessa Triest – that have shown a lot of promise. Brazeau finished in the top 20 at the third OAA Blue Jamboree last week.
“We have built a program here that should be reloading for years to come,” Piornack said.
But this week the team isn’t worried about the future. The Eagles are focused on racing Saturday at Metro Beach. As long as there isn’t a lot of rain the course shouldn’t be too difficult on runners.
“It’s a very fast course (flat),” Piornack said. “It has the potential to be very windy and soupy terrain if wet. There’s usually a head wind on the last mile.”
As of Tuesday, Saturday’s forecast called for temperatures in the 50’s with only a 10 percent chance of rain. There’s only a small chance of rain on Friday as well, so the course should be pretty dry so runners will be able to turn in their best times.
