After a breakout regular season, the Skyline Boys’ cross country team closed out its 2025 season with a 16th-place finish at the MHSAA Division 1 State Championship.
The Eagles surprised many people outside of the program with their success this season. The talent on the roster was exceptionally deep, with eight runners breaking 17 minutes in the 5 K.
“We started out kind of as underdogs, like being projected to just barely make states,” said Oskar MacArthur (‘28).
The team credits their success and improvement over the year to the work they have put in over the summer and during the season.
“During the summer, we woke up at 8 am, locked in, and went to practice and knocked it out,” Henry Remington (‘27) said. “We had workouts two or three times a week.”
The team was led by Sophomore Martin Gehrke, who ran a PR of 16:04 at states. The team has a lot of young talent, with Freshman Hudson Doll, who was approaching the 16-minute barrier in the 5k, and ran a PR of 16:07 at the Jackson Invitational. Other leaders are Matthew Guikema (‘27), Martin Gehrke (‘28), Oskar MacArthur (‘28), and Bruno Cifaldi (‘26), who all ran under 16:30 at the Jackson Invitational. The hard work they put into their training throughout the season has been a significant factor in their success.
Even without a top-10 finish at states, the team is proud of how far they’ve come.
“It feels so good,” Bruno Cifaldi (‘26) said. “We’ve worked so hard to get here, and now that they’re finally taking notice, it feels great. … Although I wish I could have capitalized on the state’s course better, I am glad I joined cross country in the first place. … The experience was indescribable.”
The team is excited for what the future holds in the upcoming years, with the plethora of young talent they possess.
