It’s officially championship season, so local teams around the Blue Water Area fit in a few last meets before league, county, and regional championships begin.
Algonac Fox and Hounds
Tues. Oct. 10 - Algonac High School
On Tuesday, the Algonac Foxes and Hounds Invitational featured a unique deviation from a typical 5k cross country race: varsity runners were placed in reverse order from #7 to #1 and released every 30 seconds. The fastest runners started last as the “hounds”, chasing the “foxes” who had an earlier start, allowing athletes who don’t normally lead a race the chance to do so, along with challenging the fastest runners to chase down the competition. Net times weren’t calculated or factored into finishing times: the order in which the runners crossed the line determined their position.
The Muskrats had a victory on their home course in both races, with Jasmine Walker winning for the girls in 21:19 and Julian Walker taking the boys’ win in 16:51. Since both were their team’s #1 runner, they had some chasing to do. The Algonac teams each finished second overall, helped by teammates Kate Bennett in the girls’ race (6th; 21:57) and Owen Beindit (5th; 18:23) in the boys’.
Imlay City won the girls’ team race and Charlotte O’Brien was second overall in 21:33. Laela Bhatti (7th; 22:21) and Alice Johnson (8th; 22:32) were also in the top ten for the Spartans. Julia Rogers of Kimball New Life Christian placed fifth in 21:41, while Emma Erdmann (9th: 22:49) and Aubrey Pilon (10th; 22:57) of Marine City also snagged a top-ten finish.
Elliot Whitney finished third for the Imlay City boys in 17:21. Jayden Robertson (6th; 18:24) and Alex Robertson (9th; 18:29) of Marine City rounded out local runners in the top ten. The Marine City Mariners finished third in both team races.
Full results: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/221585/info
Ubly Invitational
Wed. Oct. 11 - Ubly High School
A one-point difference separated team winner Caro from Cros-Lex in the girls’ race at the Ubly Invitational (54-55). Eva Thompson handily took the win for the Pioneers (18:45) as they put two more girls in the top ten - and under twenty minutes. Morgan Newton was fourth in 19:31 and Brynn Hurley was sixth in 19:57.
Rowan Conley was the first finisher for North Branch, taking 15th in 21:00, her personal best. The Broncos were seventh as a team. Morgan Brown and Ella Starnes of Memphis once again finished as the Yellowjackets' only lady runners, both running PRs in 23:40 and 23:42, respectively.
North Branch was seventh as a team in the boys’ race, with Wyatt Opperman finishing 23rd in 18:16. Kai Fisher of Memphis was 25th in 18:22 and Jack Kerrigan of Cros-Lex was 26th in 18:28. All three runners mentioned above ran personal bests.
Full results: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/221514/info
The Blue Water Area Conference meet is on Tuesday, October 17 at Cros-Lex High School.
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