Girls Cross Country: Dexter’s Sophia Grant “in shock” after qualifying for State Finals

Dexter’s Sophia Grant cruised across the finish line at DeWitt and ended up in Brooklyn! The senior cross country runner placed 15^th at Saturday’s Regional to qualify for this Saturday’s State Finals at MIS in Brooklyn.

Grant was shockingly surprised when she found out what she had just accomplished.

“When I crossed the finish line, I was in shock,” she said. “I had gotten a pretty big PR, but I was also pretty sure that I had just barely gotten 15th place and qualified.

“Part of me was worried that I and everyone watching had miscounted and I had not actually qualified for the state meet. However, once I confirmed that I had gotten 15th and qualified for the state meet, I was beyond happy.”

Yes, dreams can come true – even in DeWitt on a Saturday.

“I’ve been working hard all season with the goal of simply getting faster, but I had never imagined that I could qualify for the state meet,” Grant said. “It felt like all my hard work had really paid off.”

So Grant gets to lace up the sneakers one more time – this time on the biggest stage in cross country.

“Going into the meet, I knew I was ranked 16th in the region, so I was hoping to qualify for the state meet, but I could not believe that I had actually qualified,” she says. “I’m nervous about running at MIS since it’s a huge meet and I will be competing with incredible runners from around the state, but I’m mostly excited about the opportunity to end my final season of high school cross country on a high note.”

The top three teams and top 15 individuals qualify for the state finals.

Grant finished in 19:25.3, a few strides ahead of South Lyon’s Kyra Karfonta who finished 16^th in 19:37.6.

In a tough field, the Dreadnaughts placed 12^th overall with 307 points. Brighton ran first with 53 points followed by Howell (118) and Okemos (125).

Dexter at the finish line