It was Bengals at the top of the charts on Friday, October 27 as the boys and girls cross country teams from Ottawa Hills High School competed at the MHSAA Regional Championship meet hosted by Portage Central High School.

In the girls' race, 88 scholar-athletes toed the starting line, but none were able to best Ottawa Hills senior Selma Anderson who finished the 5k course in 17:47.12, almost a full minute faster than the second-place finisher (who in turn was 30 seconds clear of third place).

The win marked the second time in the last five years that an Ottawa Hills girl has won the regional title.

On the boys' side, Ottawa Hills senior Liam Walters was third overall in a field of 86 competitors, finishing in 16:02.02. It was his second straight top 5 finish at the regional meet.

Both Anderson and Walters qualified for the state championship meet with their regional performances, and this is the ninth year in a row that Ottawa Hills has qualified runners to the state meet.

The 2023 Division 1 state finals will be held on Saturday, November 4 at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., with the girls' race going at 2:10 pm and the boys slated for a 3:20 pm start.

Live stream is available for $11.99 at

https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam5b9ed2f042