UPDATE: Royal Oak Cross Country Teams Finish Strong in State Finals

BROOKLYN, MI —  freshman  placed 28th in the the boys Division 1 race at the Michigan International Speedway (MIS) on Saturday to earn All-State honors with his best time of the season, 16:00 flat.

"He finally could concentrate on running," Lisa Hill said of her son, who also plays on the boys junior varsity soccer team at the high school. He was unable to practice with the cross country team during much of the season.

In June, the freshman phenom, then a 14-year-old student at , set an Oakland County Track Meet record. Hill’s time in the 3,200 meter was 9:52:43. The previous county record, set in 2004, was 10:13:40.

Including Hill, Coach Dave Barnett said six of the seven boys on the varsity team ran their personal best times at the state meet. The boys peaked at the right moment, he said. 

"At the beginning of the year we weren't even ranked," Barnett said. "In the Oakland County Championship meet we came in 26th, and we finished the 16th best in the state."

The ROHS girls team did not qualify for states this year.

country teams also ended the season strong. The boys team placed 13th in Divison 4, while the girls finshed 14th.

led the Knights (17:02) in the the boys race and (21:16) had the best time for the girls.

Coach Wright Wilson noted that of the 14 runners that competed for Shrine on Saturday, only five ran in last year's state meet (Matt Arce, Morgan Button, Ben Kendell, Grace Nagle and Matt Sutton).

"Our primary goal for the day was to finish in the top half of the field as a team and we did just that," Wilson said. "Our boys matched last year's 14th-place team finish, which was actually our best finish since 1982, and we did it with a team that was much younger and not as experienced as last year's group, which was heavy with seniors."

Shrine's girls have qualified for the finals every year since 2005. They have finished in the top 15 for five years in a row. Shrine's boys have qualified every year but one since 2004. They have been in the top 15 two years in a row.

"Our girls also ran solid even though we didn't have the All-State caliber runner that we've enjoyed having the past few seasons," Wilson said. "Even though we were 13th, we were actually the third team to have all seven runners finish, which speaks well to our ability to run together as a pack."

Here are the results from the state finals at MIS:

Division 1 Boys - Royal Oak High School

Division 4 Girls - Shrine High School

Divison 4 Boys - Shrine High School