Hart's teams both stepped up Saturday at the Division 3 regional meet at Benzie Central, earning regional championships and spots at the state meet.
The Pirates' victories were both fairly lopsided, with the girls defeating second-place McBain 59-79 and the boys outscoring Lake City 63-82.
Hart's girls scorers all ran personal best times. The team had three top-10 finishers in the race, led by Natalie Rosema, who took fifth with a time of 19:23.9. It was by far Rosema's best run of the season, as she broke 20 minutes for the first time in 2025.
Emma Miller was right behind Rosema in sixth with a time of 19:34.1. It was her first time under 20 minutes in a varsity race; her previous PR was set at the coaches' association meet of champions last fall. Alaina Schaner also cleared 20 minutes for the first time this season and set a PR of 19:43.8.
The Pirates' final two scorers finished back-to-back, as Bryn Riley was 19th (20:29.3) and Luisa VanderZwaag was 20th (20:32.4).
Hart's boys scorers all submitted season bests, with the fastest four runners also earning new career bests. Silas Ackley led the way, placing ninth in a time of 16:46.1. Grant Ackley was close behind, coming in 12th in a time of 16:51.8, and Timothy Wolff was 14th in a time of 16:52.2.
Hart runners, from left, Silas Ackley, Trevor VanderKodde and Carson Ackley set a pace early in Saturday's Division 3 regional meet at Benzie Central. The Pirates' 18-second spread among their scorers propelled them to the regional championship.
Courtesy Photo
Also scoring for the Pirates were Trevor VanderKodde in a time of 16:58.2, earning 16th place, and Aiden Schaner with a time of 17:04.3, in 19th. Teammate Mason Opalewski was less than a second behind Schaner and set a new PR.
Hart wasn't the only Oceana team to send a runner to state, though, as Parker Weirich of Shelby also punched his ticket to the finals with a spectacular run of 16:52.8 to finish 15th in the boys' race. Personal bests at the regional meet are very common, but Weirich's performance was extraordinary even by that standard, as he had never broken 18 minutes in a race before, let alone 17.
Three other Tiger boys finished in the race, all submitting season bests. Brycen Brown took 37th place and had a time of 17:45.2, his personal best by over a minute, and Emilio Bustos slashed his PR by over two and a half minutes by finishing in 23:03.6, good for 73rd place. Edmund Hayes set a season best of 24:52.9, placing 74th.
The Shelby girls' team finished ninth in the regional meet, led by Noel Parker, who ran to a 21st-place finish. Her time was 20:44.7, a personal best. Lydia Soelberg finished 38th and had a time of 21:49.8 in her season debut, and Kathryn Beyer was 39th with a season best time of 21:59.1.
Also scoring for the Tigers were Ava Lamberg in 49th place, lopping nearly two minutes off her previous personal best (23:02.7) and Sydney Reed in 51st, who did the same (23:21.0).
