Renberg, Bishop Lead Hornets To SEC Red Championship

Seniors Nick Renberg and Spencer Bishop placed 1-2 and Saline placed five runners in the top nine as the Hornets cruised to victory at the third and final SEC Red Jamboree of the season to win the SEC Red championship. The race was held at Hudson Mills Metropark.

Saline finished with 25 points, half that of second place Ann Arbor Pioneer.

"Going in we were sitting pretty nicely in the lead. It would have taken a really bad day on our part to not win, but that's exactly the kind of thing I worry about. It's good to have the title cemented and this goal behind us," said coach Carl Spina. "Now the boys can focus on the regional and state  championships."

The Hornets are ranked second in the state behind Hartland.

Renberg finished the race in 15:57 to take first place for the third straight SEC jamboree. Bishop was second, finishing in 16:22.

"It was pretty awesome to see our Senior Captains Nick Renberg and Spencer Bishop finish first and second. I'm just really proud of them. It was good to have those two seniors run so well on such a big day for them," Spina said.

Freshman Logan Wetzel (5th, 16:28) earned All Conference honors.

"That's a pretty big deal. He's got big future in front of him, and he's handled the success so well. He's very modest about how well he is running. He has some impressive skills as an athlete and as a runner," Spina said.

Also scoring for the Hornets were juniors Grant Praschan (8th, 16:43) and Anthony Lamus (9th, 16:52).

"Grant Praschan had a good day for us. He's never satisfied, which is probably a big part of why he is as good as he is, but today was a very productive day for him. He's doing what he needs to be doing at this point," Spina said.

Also running for Saline were juniors Dylan Jennings (12th, 17:04) and Andrew Kitto (13th, 17:06). Praschan, Lamus, Kitto and Jennings all earned conference honors.

"Anthony Lamus, Andrew Kitto, and Dylan Jennings spent most of the race within just a few seconds of each other. All fall, those guys have been doing the job and running well together. They all picked up all-conference honors together, which is about how it should be," Spina said.

Spina noted that Lamus had a big push over the last 1,000 meters and appears to be filling the team's need for a strong number five runner.

"(Lamus) and Praschan were the last two pieces we needed to fall into place, and they are ready now," Spina said.

Connor Phelps ran away from the field in the reserve race, finishing in 17:06, which would have earned all-conference honors. Justin Henry was second in 17:22 and Jonathan Parker was third in 17:25. In fact, the Hornets had the top 12 runners in the race. They included Kevin Hall, Matthew Dow, Brett Braun, James Crowley, Kevin Allport, Erik Jacobsen, Sean Dew, Matthew Elms and Riley McCune.

"Our reserve team is undefeated this year, and this race was really the last big challenge. The boys were pretty excited to have pulled off such a deep sweep of the places. We've never have an undefeated reserve squad. It was a big day for those boys and really, the whole squad. It's been a goal I've talked to the kids about for about six or seven years," Spina said.

For most of the team, Thursday's race marked the end of the season.

"It's been an emotional few days with senior day and senior hill day this week. But it has been very fun too. This has been a great group to work with. They have really good chemistry and they take care of each other so well. On Thursday, each senior had a chance to address the team and almost every kid said, 'It has been a blessing just to know you guys,'" Spina said. "They didn't talk much about winning the conference, or that kind of stuff. They just kept standing up and saying 'thanks' to each other. It was really great to see."

The boys run a week from Saturday in the regional at Lake Erie Metropark.

"We have won the regional the past three years, so the seniors on the team know nothing else," Spina said.