Milford Guys XC team: Outrunning the competition

The Boys Cross Country Team won the Lakes Valley Conference Championship Meet on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Junior Kazuma Bowring was the Individual Champion. Carsen Kettle, Jack Lobodzinski, Shane Siterlet, Ryan O’Rourke, Sawyer Richards and Easton Williams were all honored as All-Conference.

Going into the conference meet, the team finished with a record of 8-0 after a great month of running.

The guys team has accomplished many things so far throughout this season with their closest race being a spread of 9 points along with many wins that included blowing teams out.

Some big wins this year are against South Lyon East, South Lyon, and Walled Lake Northern.

Though they have no losses, the team is still focused on winning championships.

The team is led by Kettle, a senior,  who has been a varsity member for all 4 years.

“Our team has a large depth of talent, however, there are teams outside of the conference that are just flat out faster than us,” he said. “With that being said, we plan on being competitive top end of the field at the State Finals.” Kettle and the boys are looking to pull off what many may think is an unthinkable outcome, but to him, it’s just another step the team has the talent to achieve.

The team is coached by Brian Salyers, who has led Milford High School to 5 state championships in his more than 20 years as head coach. He notes that the success is about the relationship between athletes and the culture of building of getting his runners to seek higher goals.

The guys team is looking ahead at big challenges and strong runners, but they aren’t afraid to battle.

“They have the mindset that it’s all about earning it, rather than setting high goals and not reaching them,” Salyers said. “They have to earn it one day and race at a time.”

The boys team looks to stay strong as they head into a slight uphill battle against faster teams that include Brighton, Hartland, and a number of other teams outside of the conference.

With their combined motivation and talent the boys cross country team is sure to perform well until the very end of the season.