Junior Sam Yeager and freshman Clara James-Heer led the way for the Ranger cross country teams as they traveled to Cedar Springs this past weekend for the Pre-Regional round in the MHSAA cross country tournament. Both the girls and the guys were going toe to toe every minute of the race as the girls ended up finishing in second place, while the guys finished in third.

“Both teams did really well and qualified comfortably,” head coach Ryan Schipper said. “They stepped up last weekend, and they look ready to run fast up at Benzie for Regionals.”

The guys took off first, and they had a very strong start and finished the same way. The top finisher for the guys was Sam, who finished in eighth place with a time of 16:37. Other notable finishers for the Rangers were seniors Kyle James-Heer, Jonah Cumings, Tanner Wooden, and sophomore Ethan Krampe. All of them finished in the top 25, propelling the guys to a third-place finish overall.

“This past meet was very important for all of us, and everyone stepped up, especially the guys,” Sam said. “They stepped up to the challenge as we qualified for Regionals this upcoming weekend.”

The girls took off next and just like the guys, the lady Rangers did not take their foot off the gas. The top finisher for the girls was Clara, who finished in second place with a time of 18:19. Other notable finishers for the lady Rangers were senior Whitney Currie, freshman Peyton Ludwig, and junior Claire Richardson, who all finished in the top 15. This stellar performance by the lady Rangers led them to a second-place finish.

The Rangers will look to keep up their momentum as they will be participating in the Regional round of the MHSAA tournament this upcoming weekend at Benzie Central High School near Traverse City.