Lowell returned to the course where their season started as Portage Central played host to the MHSAA Region 3 meet held at Portage West MS.  It was the same course where the Arrows punched their ticket as a team for the state meet in 2022, so magic has been known to occur there.  On paper Lowell was showing as the twelve-place team and Claire O Boyle as the 24th fastest runner and 10th individual place.  The team strategy was simple as the girls were asked to lengthen their stride when the wind was at their back and drive the arms and knees when running into the wind.  O Boyle had an added instruction to go out right behind the lead group and battle to stay there.    Claire’s chances seemed slim as her time in August on the same course was 22:16, her PR was 20:04, generally you need to be in the 19’s to qualify for the state meet, and you must finish in the top 15 or be one of the top 7 runners that aren’t part of the first three teams.  Claire ran her fastest opening mile of the year and “planted” herself around 10th place and pretty much hung out there for the entire race as she negative split the third mile to close the deal finishing in 11th place with a PR time of 19:56. What is really amazing is that out of the 88 runners in the girls race, only 8 ran PR’s.  As a team Lowell battled hard and finished in 10th place w/ 212 pts.   OK White foe FHC won the meet with 57 points, followed by Kalamazoo Central and Portage Central.  The top three teams earn the right to race next week at MIS.    Following O Boyle were Evie Deur (29th place ) running 20:42, Audrey Latchaw (42nd place ) running 21:22, Brooklyn Jackson (59th place) running 22:22, Olivia Lothian (71st place) running 22:55, Veronica Tapia (83rd place ) running 24:19, and Jadyn Young (84th place) running 24:34.   The state meet is Saturday November 4th at Michigan International Speedway. 

Perfect conditions and a fast Riverside Park course greeted the OK White teams as they raced for that final time at the OK White Conference Championship.  Lowell finished 6th in the meet at 6th overall which saw Christian, the number #1 ranked team in D2 take home top team honors for the day and the season.  EGR and FHC rounded out the top three teams.  Claire O Boyle and Evie Deur led the Arrows up front finishing in 21st and 24th with times of 20:04PR and 20:25SB.  Both girls went out hard and should both break the elusive 20:00 mark next week at regionals.  Olivia Lothian and Brooklyn Jackson continued their tears as they both laid down PR’s  of 21:14 and 21:58  which were good for a 42nd and 55th place.  Audrey Latchaw closed out the scoring with a 66th place finish running 22:15. Completing the varsity team was Jadyn Young and Veronica Tapia finishing in 89th an 98th respectively.   Team Scores GR Christian       31 EGR                        52 FHC                        63 Byron Center     116 FHN                       130 Lowell                   160 Greenville           199 Northview          224   The Arrows are off unit October 27th at the MHSAA Regional 3 meet.

Running without two of the top runners the Red Arrows lined up against other Kent County teams for the Kent Ottawa Invitational.  The teams were able to get their race completed before the rain came with many nailing personal records on their way.  Lowell took 7th in the meet which was won by the GRTC Peregrine team with Covenant Christian and GR Christian completing the top three.  Junior Claire O Boyle was Lowell’s lone medalist as she finished in 8th place with a PR time of 20:05.   Olivia Lothian and Audrey Latchaw finished in 37th and 42nd running 22:03 and 22:24.   Brooklyn Jackson and Veronica Tapia finished in 55th and 80th running a PR 22:50 and 24:15.  The varsity team was closed out by Anna Forney and Jadyn Young finishing in 92nd and 105th.   The Arrows conclude their OK White Season with the conference championships on Wednesday, Oct 18th at Riverside Park.

The Red Arrows hosted the OK White Jamboree on a tough Lowell course.   Lowell finished in sixth place in the meet which was won by GR Christian with FHC and EGR completing the top three.  Leading the Arrows was Claire O Boyle and Evie Deur who finished in 22nd and 33rd with times of 22:13 and 23:00.  Audrey Latchaw and Mia Vonderheide came in next for Lowell finishing in 34th and 48th with times of 23:04 and 24:13. Closing out the varsity were Olivia Lothian finishing 49th in 24:14 and Brooklyn Jackson finishing 65th in 25:07. The Arrows are off until October 13th when they race at the Kent Ottawa Championships.

Lowell capped off a hard week of hills by running the fastest 1-5 team average time as they finished 9th place  out of fifteen teams at the Allendale Invitational. The 1:42 gap between the first and fifth runner was the best of the season and is even bigger considering that Claire O Boyle threw down her second fastest time of the year as she grabbed the 22nd place medal in a time of 20:18. Evie Deur ran her fastest time of the year as she finished in 32nd place in a time of 20:36.  Audrey Latchaw worked through the long week finishing in 59th place running 21:43, while Olivia Lothian continued her time drop as she ran a PR 21:51 which was good for 60th place.  Finishing fifth and sixth for the varsity was Mia Vonderheide and Brooklyn Jackson who finished in 63rd and 82nd running 21:59 and 23:07 (PR) respectively.   The Arrows race on campus this Wednesday as Lowell will host the  OK White Jamboree #3.

Some courses are made to be fast and the 5k course at Covenant Christian HS is one of them.  Take a piece of flat firm ground, cut the grass to “lettuce tight” and throw in some long straight stretches and you have the makings for a very special day.  The Lady Arrows showed that their hard work is starting to take form as eight of the eleven Arrows scored “giant” PR’s as they enter the final month of the season.  Lowell placed 8th place in the Autumn division which was won by Zeeland East.   Claire O’Boyle grabbed the 16th place medal while hitting her new PR of 20:12. Claire’s race was special as she was challenged to really be aggressive for the first  half of the race and it paid off.  Following O’ Boyle was Mia Vonderheide hit a new PR going 21:33, Olivia Lothian hit a new PR going 21:57, Audrey Latchaw going 22:37, Jadyn Young hitting a new PR running 23:27 and Brooklyn Jackson hitting a new PR running 23:57.   Lowell will travel to Allendale on Saturday for the Falcon Invitational.

Lowell travelled to South Christian to compete in the second OK White XC race of the season.  GR Christian (#1 ranked D2) won the meet with Lowell finishing in 6th place.  The two take aways from the meet were the top five went out harder for the first half of the race and the results of this showed as Lowell edged closer to the fifth-place spot in the conference.  Claire O’Boyle led the Arrows finishing in 21st place , followed by Evie Deur in 23rd, Audrey Latchaw in 37th, Olivia Lothian in 52nd, and Mia Vondeheide in 53rd.  Brooklyn Jackson and Jadyn Young completed the varsity line-up.   Lowell will travel to Covenant Christian HS on Saturday for the Autumn Sunrise Invitational.

The Lady Arrows lined up for the Ottawa Hills Invitational without two of the varsity runners which made for tough challenge against a stacked field.  The meet which was won by perennial D1 powerhouse TC West was also a chance for many of Lowell’s regional meet teams to see where they stacked up.  The fast field gave the young Arrows a chance to go out and race against faster people which helped many to lower their personal best times.  Of the thirteen girls that lined up for Lowell, nine established new personal records on a fast Riverside course.   The varsity team was led by Audrey Latchaw as she finished 55th in 20:52 (PR), followed by Claire O’Boyle finishing in 68th in 21:15, Mia Vonderheide finishing in 92nd in 22:01 (PR), Olivia Lothian finishing in 111th in 22:26 (PR), and Jadyn Young finishing in 145th in 24:00 (PR).  Brooklyn Jackson and Anna Forney closed out the varsity finishing 147th and 158th respectively.

  Paul Judd 7:11 AM (18 minutes ago)     to redarrowreport@gmail.com, Kimberly, Patrick, JB, lhsannouncements@lowellschools.com               Arrows are tested at the Bredeweg Invitational   Two big races in three days were the biggest test the young Arrows have faced in this season’s campaign.  Coming off the 1st OK White Jamboree the Arrows headed to Holland to race against some more of the strongest teams in the state at the Bredeweg Invitational hosted by West Ottawa.  The field comprised of six teams that will finish amongst the top teams in the state including the 2022 D1 state champion.  Lowell had two goals that they wanted to achieve as the girls were charged with getting out in the first mile and running people throughout the race.  Some of the girls used the goals to set personal bests as we had six hit new marks.   Lowell was led by Claire O’Boyle as she finished in 42nd with a time of 21:25, Mia Vonderheide finishing 63rd with a time of 22:09 (PR), Audrey Latchaw finishing 72nd with a time of 22:28, Olivia Lothian finishing 78th with a time of 22:36(PR), and Veronica Tapia finishing 23:37 with a time of 23:37 (PR).  Jadyn Young and Brooklyn Jackson completed the varsity lineup finishing in 106th and 139th respectively.   Grand Haven           50 West Ottawa            64 FHC                        102 Spring Lake             133 Zeeland East            141 Zeeland West          144 Holland Christian     156 FHN                        246 Buchanan                272 Cedar Springs          285 Reeths Puffer           296 Mona Shores           297 Lowell                     323 Coopersville            342 Hamilton                 444 Kenowa Hills            498   Lowell will compete on Friday at the Ottawa Hills Invitational at Riverside Park.

  Cooler temps and a stacked OK White Conference greeted the Lady Arrows when they Arrived at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids for the first OK White Jamboree.  When the race was done GR Christian showed why they are the top ranked D2 team in the state and why the OK White is one of the deepest conferences in the state.  Lowell finished in 6th place with 167 points which was where they finished on paper when times were compared prior to the meet.  Lowell took advantage of the fast competition as half the team set either personal records or season bests in the race.  Lowell was led by Claire O ‘Boyle who finished in 27th place in a time of 21:15(SR), she was followed by Audrey Latchaw finishing 37th in a time of 21:53, Evie Deur finishing 39th in a time of 22:07 (SR), Mia Vonderheide finishing 42nd in a PR time of 22:20, and Olivia Lothian finishing 48th in a PR time of 22:55.  Completing the varsity finishers were Veronica Tapia in 62nd and Jadyn Young in 24:20 both hitting PR times.   Lowell will compete on Saturday at the West Ottawa Bredeweg Invitational.

Lowell took advantage of a fast course, fast company, and a unique format to set eight PR’s (personal records) as well as two season best times as they earned a 5th place finish at the South Christian “Under the Lights” Invitational.  As the name of the invitational mentions, the races were held under floodlights that were laced through out the 5k course.   The Arrows were in the Sunset Race which went off at 830PM just as it was getting a bit dark.  Audrey Latchaw had her bast race of the ’23 season grabbing a medal as she finished in 22nd with a PR time of 21:26. Following her was Claire O’Boyle has she ran a SB time of 22:03 which was good for a 30th place medal.  Also scoring for Lowell were Mia Vonderheide (49th) in PR time of 23:01, Olivia Lothian (56th) n PR time of 23:30, and Jadyn Young (76th) in a PR time of 24:38.  Closing out the varsity were Brooklyn Jackson and Anna Forney finishing in 60th and 109th respectively.   Lowell is off until after Labor Day when they will compete in the first OK White Jamboree on September 7th.

A young Lowell XC team headed to Portage Central to compete in the Early Bird Invite.  This was the first HS 5km for eight of the fourteen Red Arrows who toed the line on Friday, so the race was going to be a learning experience.  When the race was done the Arrows finished in 12th place which was three spots shy of the goal of a top 10 finish.  Top five for the Arrows were Claire O’Boyle led the Arrows taking 48th in 22:16, Evie Deur taking 57th in 22:42, Mia Vonderheide taking 70th in 23:10,  Audrey Latchaw taking 74th in 23:24, and Olivia Lothian taking 89th in 23:52.   The Arrows have two meets in the next week as they visit Hesperia for the Baker Woods Invite on August 23rd and then are back at the South Christian Under the Lights Invite on August 25th.