WASHINGTON TWP. - The championship season for cross-country is really picking up pace around the state.
With league championships happening last week or next week and county meets scattered across the state during the first two weekends of October, Macomb County will take center stage this Saturday at Stony Creek Metropark.
The varsity races will take place at 10 a.m. (girls) and 10:30 a.m. (boys), respectively, with junior-varsity and open races to follow throughout the morning hours.
While Romeo's girls team, ranked second in the state in Division 1, is the heavy favorite to defend its county title - the Bulldogs have won nine straight county championships which is second all-time in the event - there could be a new champion this time around in boys cross-country.
Last year's boys champion, Utica, does not appear to have the same depth as last season, and Romeo has rarely been challenged by other Macomb County schools over the last two months. Romeo already won both events in the Macomb Area Conference Red Division and is the favorite this time around.
Sterling Heights Stevenson's girls team own the record for 12 straight titles from 1994-2005.
In the girls race, Romeo's trio of defending champion Natalia Guaresimo, Annie Hrabovsky, and Ella Goodsell have been ranked as the top three runners all season. Utica's Siene Muraszewski has also run under 18:15 this season, as those four will be difficult to penetrate.
Romeo's Guaresimo is the defending champion, while Hrabovsky won the individual crown as a freshman in 2023. Hrabovsky has not lost to a runner from Macomb County this season and has placed individually in the top five in numerous invitational-style meets this season.
Guaresimo, Muraszewski, Romeo's Emmie Clor and Dakota's Lidia Clancy are also going after a top-21 finish for the fourth straight year.
Romeo's girls took the top seven slots at last year's meet - an all-time best - and scored the lowest possible score of 15 points. Guaresimo clocked 17:48.9 to win last year with Hrabovksy (17:48.9) finishing second by a hair and Clor was fourth (18:29.5),
Other top girls runners who could medal include Warren Michigan Athletic Club for Homeschoolers' Alannah Wessel, Fraser's Alice Foley, Romeo's Emmie Clor, Macomb Lutheran North's Samantha Whitlam, Macomb Dakota's Lidia Clancy, Romeo's Reese Rosbolt, Dakota's Gabriella Mercier, Utica's Emma Brown, Utica Eisenhower's Jacalyn Yakel and Maggie Baginski, L'Anse Creuse North's Ava Knight, Dakota's Grace Mathers, Chesterfield Township Austin Catholic's Cassidy Bowers, Fraser's Kate Molloy, Utica's Kylie Brown, Fraser's Olivia Cereska and Jewel Zschernig and Armada's Claire Albrecht amongst others.
Awards presentation will begin at the pavilion around 12:45 p.m. The top 21 in each varsity race will earn All-Macomb County Meet honors.
On the boys' side, L'Anse Creuse North sophomore Xavier Solgot has emerged as the favorite. He has already shattered his school's 3.1-mile record and has been clocked at 15:31.65 this season. He is one of the top sophomores in Michigan so far this season.
Lutheran North's Joshua Macri, Romeo's Owen Perry, Utica's Harper Wesley and Dakota's Joseph Kaleto are some of the others that will challenge up in the top five. Macri, Perry, and Wesley, the defending champion, have posted top efforts between 15:55 and 15:59 this season.
Perry is also an exceptional athlete, also leading Romeo's boys soccer team to a top-five ranking in Division 1 as a center back for MAC Red Division champion Bulldogs this season as a center back. He is also and all-state wrestler and a state qualifier in track and field and could become a double all-state athlete this fall in both soccer and cross-country. Perry was third last season at the county meet.
Wesley is vying for a top-21 finish for the fourth consecutive season. He won the title last season with a 15:37.1 clocking.
Others to watch in the boys race include Dakota's Joseph Kaleto, Romeo's Luke Allen and Rio Hrabovsky, Lutheran North's Xavier Roman, Warren De La Salle's Malcom Richardson, Dakota's Andrew Scheloske, Romeo's James Brickel, Eisenhower's Drew Pietraszkiewicz and Anthony Frei, Utica's Charlie Curtis, Romeo's Carson Hlavin, Dakota's Logan LaMilza, Anchor Bay's Aaron Osterman, Fraser's Cameron Martin and Tyler Williams, De La Salle's Nathan Kafoury, Warren MACH's Ian Potts and Eisenhower's Fedrico Moreno-Padilla should contend for medals.
Another runner top watch is Fraser's Gavin Soviar, who has been out for a few weeks with a nagging injury. He is slated to return after earning a top-21 finish at last season's county meet.
In the boys team race, Dakota could be the only serious threat to Romeo, which has won seven of the last eight team trophies. The Cougars have not defeated Romeo this season.
Lutheran North, defending champ Utica, Utica Eisenhower and Fraser should also be vying for top-five team finishes.
While Romeo's girls team is expected to run away with another Macomb County championship, there are several other quality teams who will be racing for top-five finishes in the girls race. Dakota, Utica, Fraser, Eisenhower, Lutheran North and a host of others could vie for top-five or top10 team finishes.
Romeo's girls took the top seven slots at last year's meet - an all-time best - and scored the lowest possible score of 15 points.
There are 27 full boys teams and 24 girls teams registered for the event, plus some schools that will have a single individual or less than five runners required for a team score.