HAMBURG TOWNSHIP — Some of Brighton’s best cross country runners came into the program as prodigies, having flashed potential while in middle school.
Then there’s senior Tyler Brock who, although he had been running since fifth grade, didn’t look the part of a future leader for one of the top programs in Michigan.
Three years ago, he made his high school debut by running a dual meet against Pinckney in 26 minutes, 3 seconds.
But he didn’t languish there for long. Improvement came rapidly throughout his freshman year as he worked his way down to 18:51.4 by season’s end.
“To see the progression he’s made over that time, he bought in,” Brighton coach Chris Elsey said. “It’s been wonderful to see his growth.”
Returning to the same course on which he was 45th out of 49 runners in his first meet, Brock placed first out of 59 finishers with a time of 16:47.3 at Bennett Manly Park.
Brighton beat Pinckney, 19-42, in a clash between last year’s state runners-up in Divisions 1 and 2, respectively.