Poor weather motivates Kelley, Prieur

BUCHANAN — The worst weather conditions brought out the best in Three Rivers senior cross country runner Carissa Kelley, Constantine senior Quinten Prieur and their teammates in Saturday’s Division 2 and Division 3 regional meets at Redbud Trail Motocross Park.

With temperatures in the mid to high 30s and weather that featured rain, snow and sleet, Kelley overcame the elements and a difficult course filled with rolling hills to earn her third career trip to the state finals in Division 2.

Kelley, a state qualifier her freshman and sophomore year, will compete in the finals at Michigan Speedway this weekend after finishing with a season-best time of 20:47.1 for 14th place.

The top three teams, plus any individual finishing in the Top 15, qualify for the state finals.

“Last year was a bit of a disappointment when I didn’t qualify for state my junior year. So the entire offseason I trained really hard because I wanted to make it back to state my senior year,” said Kelley, who was ranked No. 27 coming into the race.

Please see Monday’s print or e-edition for full article.