The boys cross country team has been working hard for many years, putting in thousands of miles over the years with determination, team work, and dedication.
However, since 2004, the boys had not beaten KLAA rival Pinckney in a dual meet. On Sept. 13, they broke the losing streak of seven years against their toughest competition.
In preparation, the boys faced a tough challenge. Little did they know, this day would be one of the greatest dual meets they’ve ever had.
Senior Paul Ausum gave his teammates an inspiring speech before the run, encouraging the team to make progress this year and to finally put the pieces together.
“Paul’s speech inspired me to have the determination to run harder,” said Junior Chris Housel.
With long months of training, workouts, and visualizing their win, the boys were well prepared.
“Our team was more than well prepared,” said Housel. “All of our long, hard, work really had our team prepared for some tough competition,”
The race featured a back-and-fourth battle between the two returning state teams.
With both being state qualifiers every year, the competition was tough. The first miles were close with Milford and Pinckney neck and neck, packing each other in, with the top runners pushing each other, both teams bringing tenacity.
After about two miles, the boys started to settle in, with some of the runners falling back, putting Milford ahead.
“I could see in the last mile we were getting ahead and maintaining composure,” said Ausum.
Chris Ceresa, the Milford athletic director, could tell the outcome was mostly determined by the last half mile, with Pinckney’s team starting to give up and Milford’s team looking ahead. With the upper hand, the MHS boys pulled through and closed up the 3.1 mile race resulting in a 25-30 victory. Coming in first together was Junior Cody Snavely and Sophomore Brian Kettle, sharing a time of 16:24.
Following them was Ausum, placing fourth with a time of 16:34, giving Milford another up front advantage.
Closing up the race with a victory was senior Steven Sloboda at 17:21 and Housel with a season best (at the time) of 17:36.
“This was a very nice win for our guys,” said Coach Brian Salyers, according to The Milford Times. “Pinckney has a great program and any victory over them is a meaningful one.”