Birmingham Seaholm junior Alexandra Green won the girls' 5,000-meter race at the MSU Spartan Invitational on Friday, Sept. 11, finishing in 19:11.0.
She topped the Green Division 1 field, one of several divisions at the meet.
The 45th annual meet, presented by Auto-Owners Insurance, was held at Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing on the campus of Michigan State University.
Green won by more than 11 seconds. Coincidentally, her winning time was 19:11 on 9/11.
Paige McMeans finished second in 19:22.1, and Harper Henderson placed third in 19:33.5 in the Green Division 1 race, according to Athletic.net results. Green, listed as a Year 11 runner in the results, competed against a field drawn from high schools across Michigan. The victory was Green's second straight invitational title this fall.
She won the Women's 11th/12th Grade division at the Northville Mustang Invite on Aug. 27 at Cass Benton Park in Northville, finishing in 19:28.4, more than a minute ahead of runner-up Colette Lozo of Northville, according to Athletic.net results.
A School Kudos post on the Seaholm athletics page described Green as "one of the top girls distance runners in the area" heading into the middle of the season.
Green's 19:11.0 at the Spartan Invitational represents a significant drop from her Northville winning time. That improvement of more than 17 seconds over roughly two weeks signals she is still gaining fitness as the season progresses.
Behind Green, the Seaholm girls' team finished ninth out of 19 squads in the division. Other Seaholm finishers, according to Athletic.net results:
- Olivia Dixon, 34th, 21:48.7
- Genevieve Schairer, 64th, 23:05.8
- Claire Yandora, 73rd, 23:26.6
- Lucille Ragheb, 76th, 23:36.5
- Marianna Muzzin, 86th, 23:52.3
- Alexa Barrett, 101st, 24:24.8
Coach Dave Hamway's Maples will look to build on that result as the cross country schedule moves into league competition and regional qualifiers.
With two invitational titles already banked, Green and the Maples turn to league play Sept. 15 at the OAA Jamboree in Lake Orion, according to a School Kudos post on the Seaholm athletics page.
