Grosse Pointe South's cross country teams are preparing for Saturday's MHSAA regional meet after a season in which the girls squad grew to 55 runners across all four grades.
The Blue Devils compete Saturday, Oct. 31, at Willow Metropark in the Lower Peninsula Division 1 regional meet, according to the school's athletics calendar.
Teams that qualify will race at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
Girls head coach Steve Zaranek told The Tower Pulse, Grosse Pointe South's student newspaper, that the 55-runner girls roster is among the largest in Michigan.
"We have 55 girls from all four grades," Zaranek said, describing a team working toward common goals and supporting one another.
The girls went undefeated in league dual meets and finished in the top two at four invitationals, according to Grosse Pointe News.
Published race results also show the team's depth. At the Sept. 22 MAC jamboree, South runners took the first seven places in the girls race, led by Eleanor Pilsner in 19 minutes, 9 seconds.
Emma Ford finished second in 20:49, followed by Morgan Costello in 21:01, according to the race results.
South also won the girls team competition at the Sept. 26 Hanson's Invitational, placing five runners among the top 16.
The boys team also enters regionals after an unbeaten season, according to The Tower Pulse.
The student newspaper highlighted the role of training groups and team support, with sophomore Addy Christian emphasizing that runners encourage teammates through the finish and senior captain Logan Garbo describing the importance of setting an example during daily workouts.
Zaranek has deep roots in the program. MHSAA records show he coached the Grosse Pointe South girls team to a Division 1 state championship in 2011 and a runner-up finish in 2012.
Senior captain Morgan Costello told Grosse Pointe News earlier in October that the girls team's goal is qualifying for the Division 1 state finals as a full squad after narrowly missing that mark last year.
Saturday's regional meet will determine which teams and individual runners advance to the Nov. 7 state championships.
