Sparta boys win battle for second
By Steve Ungrey and Jeff Chaney
The Grand Rapids Press
Eric Stouten and the Sparta boys cross country team knew what they and the rest of the Division 2 field were up against Saturday at the state finals at Michigan International Speedway.
They had to face Dexter, arguably the best cross country team in the state in all divisions.
So for the Spartans to end up in second place to the Dreadnaughts in the final team standings, Sparta's best place at the state finals since they won a state title in 1962, Saturday's finish was a great accomplishment.
Dexter won its fifth consecutive Division 2 state title with 28 points. Sparta was runner-up with 142 points.
"We are very excited," said Stouten, one of three senior runners for Sparta. "Dexter is the class here, so to finish second, it was a very good day."
The Spartans had to hold off Fremont, the team that beat them at last week's regional at Sparta, for second place. Fremont ended up in third place with 157 points.
Stouten led Sparta by coming in fourth place with a time of 15 minutes, 27.9 seconds. Dexter's Bobby Aprill won the state title with a time of 15:15.1.
Teammates following Stouten to the finish line were senior Adam Yost (29th, 16:15), senior Brad Dauber (30th, 16:17.3), sophomore Nate Dahlgren (61st, 16:41.1) and junior Alex Matthews (62nd, 16:41.7).
"We all felt strong today," Stouten said. "Our top three seniors knew this was going to be our last high school cross country race, and we really wanted to make the podium."