On to the state finals!  The Ionia Boys’ Cross Country team accomplished their goal of qualifying as a team for the Division 2 State Finals by placing 2nd at the MHSAA Regional Meet at St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt.  St. Johns was the team champion with 29 points.  Ionia finished 2nd with 72 points to outpace 3rd-place East Grand Rapids which had 92.  The course is already challenging because of hills, but the rain added the additional element of sloppy, muddy footing.  Leading the pack for Ionia was Senior Josiah Magley who was edged at the line to finish 3rd in 16:57, less than 5 seconds behind the meet champion.  Also medaling for the Bulldogs were Heath LaPointe with a 9th-place finish in 17:38 and Jacob Montgomery who raced to 14th place in 17:45.  Ellis Yokom was a strong fourth man, placing 19th in 17:56.  Andrew Gerdes rounded out the scoring by placing 27th in 18:40.  Tyson Evans was 48th and Riley Husted 50th to complete the varsity 7.  The boys will take to the course at the Michigan International Speedway next Saturday in the Division 2 State Finals.  JV team members will wrap up their season on Thursday when they race at Uncle John’s Cider Mill in St. Johns.