The Fenton boys soccer team was No. 4 on our Tri-County Top 10 Fall Teams list. Photos: David Troppens
When it comes to the tri-county’s most dominant sport in the 21st century, the list of contending sports is very short.
But one of the serious contenders on that short list is cross country.
Cross country teams have dominated the tri-county fall landscape ever since this editor has been in his chair. One of the few team state championships that have happened over the last 25 years was provided by a cross country team (2008 Linden boys), and plenty of other squads have finished in the top five at state meets as well. They’ve also won plenty of regional titles and Flint Metro League crowns. Yes, the sports staff knows running 5K races isn’t as glamorous and fan friendly (to some) as maybe going to a Friday football game with a band and cheerleaders adding to the atmosphere, but when it comes to honors cross country is king.
The 2025 Tri-County Top 10 Fall Sports Teams reflects that point. Three cross country teams made the top 10 list and another earned honorable mention status. Of the three that made the top 10, two will be in this final installment of our list.
A couple of other sports that have had successful runs in the 21st century are soccer and cross country. Today’s top four include squads in those sports. But, cross country remains king of the fall sports season.
No. 4 – Fenton boys soccer: What a season it was. It was a season that began with adversity.
Since the end of the Matt Sullivan era, the squad has seen its share of coaches, and there was another coaching change in the fall of 2025. Michael Gilmour took over as the head coach. The season started with two losses in the Tigers’ first three games, making one wonder if the squad could recover from a losing record in 2024. The answer to that question was they 100% could.
The Tigers went on to go unbeaten over their next 10 games (nine wins and one tie). The Tigers were a complete team, dominating on both sides of the pitch. They outscored opponents 59-9 during that run, earning shutout wins in each of the final five wins in that stretch. Wins against Goodrich and Flushing down the stretch earned the Tigers a co-Flint Metro League crown. The only reason it was a co-title had to do with the team that they drew — Brandon. Both of those teams ended up atop the standings.
When the state tourney series began, life got super exciting. The Eagles defeated area rival Linden 5-0 in the opener and then defeated the Goodrich Martians one more time, with a 3-2 shootout victory. The district title match-up was against the fellow co-Metro champs Brandon. In that game, the Tigers won a thrilling 2-1 overtime session against the Blackhawks.
The season wasn’t over. The Tigers hosted the regional tourney and defeated Bay City John Glenn with a 5-1 verdict, setting up a regional championship game against Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood. Unfortunately, that’s when the run ended as the Tigers lost 2-0, the only time Fenton was shutout the entire season. The Tigers final record was 15-4-1. It was a great year.
The boys cross country team was No. 3 on our list.
No. 3 – Fenton boys cross country: This was one of the strangest Flint Metro League seasons in cross country history.
It was a super competitive battle between two tri-county rivals — Fenton and Holly. Both had reason to feel good about the season once it ended.
Fenton won the first jamboree relatively easily (44-89) against the second-place Bronchos. It became evident that the top two teams were going to be the rivals.
The second jamboree saw almost a complete reversal. The Bronchos were healthier and dominated it by beating second-place Fenton 47-71. That meant the final meet was going to decide not only the Flint Metro League champion but which was the Stripes Division champion. It was assumed the same team would win both titles, but that wasn’t what happened.
In the final meet, the Bronchos won the outright Flint Metro League title (55-57) by beating the other 11 teams at the event. However, when taking into account just the six Stripes Division squads, the two teams tied at 37 points. That meant a sixth-man tiebreaker would decide the Stripes portion of the race, and Fenton won it. Therefore the Tigers were not the FML champs, but were the Stripes Division champs.
Fenton followed that meet with their biggest highlight, capturing a Division 2 regional title. The Tigers scored 54 points, winning the regional crown by seven points. The Tigers probably hoped for a slightly better performance at the D2 state meet, but finishing 14th in state was a solid way to end the season.
The Linden girls cross country team was No. 2.
No. 2 – Linden girls cross country: Look at that, another cross country squad. The Eagles have traditionally been one of those elite teams that make cross country such a dominant sport in the tri-county area, so their inclusion at this point isn’t that much of a shock.
In recent seasons, the three-time defending Metro League champions Goodrich has had a hammerlock on the league title so could anyone be blame when one thought that may be the case in the fall of 2025 as well? Probably not. And after the first Metro jamboree, it looked like Linden may be a strong runner-up, finishing second to Goodrich by a 43-68 margin.
The league race changed at the second jamboree which was hosted at Linden’s home course. The Eagles won it with 46 points to Goodrich’s 62, almost the opposite of the first Metro event. That meant the league champion would be determined at the third league meet. It ended up being a close event between the two leaders, but the Eagles ended up winning not only the Flint Metro League Stripes Division title, but also the outright league championship. It was their first league title since 2015.
The regional meet was also held at Linden’s home course and the Eagles finished second with 57 points, 15 behind regional champion Pinckney, but easily ahead of third-place Marian (101). The top three teams qualify for the state meet. While at Michigan International Speedway, the Eagles finished with a strong ninth-place performance.
It’s time to honor the top team on our 2025 Tri- County Top 10 Fall Sports Teams list. Our No. 1 squad is the Lake Fenton volleyball team (above). The Blue Devils advanced to the state quarterfinals.
No. 1 – Lake Fenton volleyball: The Blue Devils were a team of perseverance this fall. Here they are, at the No. 1 spot. And yet, if this poll was done let’s say two weeks before their regular season was over, the squad didn’t really have that “best area fall sports team vibe.”
One of the team’s first highlights was a home game against Goodrich on the football field, but the Martians actually won that contest in five sets, which meant for most of the Flint Metro League Stars Division season, the Blue Devils were in second place, waiting for that second chance to play Goodrich. When they did it was another five-set match, but this time won by the Blue Devils. The teams ended up tied for the Stars Division title, but the Blue Devils ended up being the division representative in the Flint Metro League championship match for the fourth straight season. This time the Blue Devils played Linden for the title. As had happened each of the previous three seasons, the Blue Devils lost that title match in four sets. Considering the two rivals would probably collide in the district tourney as well, it felt like Lake Fenton’s season would end without a district crown as well.
But, that wasn’t the case at all. The team was led by a prideful senior class that wanted to end their careers with a bang, and they did.
The Blue Devils defeated Corunna in a district opening contest and then faced Linden for the district title match. Lake Fenton swept that match 25-22, 25-22, 26-24 avenging the Metro title defeat.
The next step was regional action. Lake Fenton just kept getting better. The Blue Devils defeated Frankenmuth 25-16, 25-11, 25-19 in the regional semifinal, and then beat rival Goodrich 24-26, 25-19, 25-14, 25-17 to win the regional championship.
That placed the Blue Devils in the Division 2 state quarterfinals against the top-ranked team in the state, Detroit Country Day. The Blue Devils battled hard against Country Day, losing a 25-17, 23-25, 25- 14, 26-24 verdict in what was probably their best season performance despite the loss. The Blue Devils finished with just a 26-16 record, but no tri-county team progressed from day one to the end of the season like they did, creating the most memorable postseason run of the fall. And that helped the Blue Devils earn our No. 1 spot.
