The temperatures are dropping and so are the times: there was a fall flurry of cross country action this week for Blue Water Area teams. From the east side (Marysville) to the west side (Portage), here is the weekly race results recap.
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024
@ Taymouth Township Park, MI
Top team finishers: BOYS
51: Liam Bhatti 18:55 PR. Imlay City
56: Wyatt Opperman 18:59 SR. North Branch
Top team finishers: GIRLS
25: Charlotte O'Brien 21:15 PR. Imlay City
26: Rowan Conley 21:21 SR. North Branch
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024
@ Everest Collegiate High School
Top team finishers: BOYS
4: Nico DiPonio 18:34. Austin Catholic
9: Liam Knuth 18:55. Cardinal Mooney Catholic
Top team finishers: GIRLS
3: Cassidy Bowers 22:21. Austin Catholic
4: Stella Behnan 22:38. Cardinal Mooney Catholic
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024
@ Brown City High School
Top team finishers: BOYS
13: Colton Grzyb 18:49. Almont
14: Adam SaintOnge 18:50. Almont
20: Donovan Glasgow 19:22 PR. Capac
50: Daniel Rosenow 23:49 PR. Memphis
58: Jacob Clark 26:10. Blue Water Christian Academy
Top team finishers: GIRLS
10: Laila Evola 21:36. Almont
43: Morgan Brown 24:39. Memphis
59: Samantha Skurda 33:22 PR. Capac
Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024
@ Dakota High School
Full photo gallery at: https://bluewaterrunning.zenfoliosite.com/dakota-carnival-of-races-girls
Photos courtesy of MLN XC Instagram.
It was a festive fall day for the Mustangs at the Dakota Carnival of Races as Macomb Lutheran North won both the boys’ and girls’ divisions. Joshua Macri added another invitational win to his name in 16:29, while Xavier Roman (3rd; 16:59), Samuel Kochensparger (6th; 17:39), and Jack McMahon (8th; 18:04) put four teammates in the top 10. Garrett and Ian Potts were fourth and fifth for MACH in 17:28 (PR) and 17:36, respectively. MACH finished third as a team behind MLN and Dakota. Armada’s top finisher was Robert Carrigan in 20th place (19:02). Armada was fifth. New Haven’s Walter Sutherland finished 77th in 24:40 for New Haven.
The one-two punch of MACH’s Wessel sisters led the pack: Alannah won in a huge personal best of 19:07, while Faith did the same to take second in 20:09. Samantha Whitlam of MLN followed in third with a PR of 20:11, while Armada’s Brooklyn Khon was fourth in 20:17. Then came the MLN pack: fifth, sixth, and seventh were claimed by Evelyn Buckley (21:26), Chloe Boright (21:27 PR), and Lucy Gump (21:52). Abigail Denoyer of Armada was tenth in 21:59. Armada was second as a team and MACH was third. Emma Reimer was 18th in 23:23 for New Haven.
Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024
@ Marysville City Park
Photos courtesy of Rick Leslie/AB XC; Imlay City XC; Richmond XC
In its 44th year, the Marysville Invitational featured many Blue Water Area teams on a fantastic fall-weather day. New Baltimore Anchor Bay took home the boys’ team win and also had the individual champion: Greg Vogt cruised to an easy win in 17:19, followed by teammate Aaron Osterman (17:29). Fellow Tar Brandon Ziehmer was fifth in 18:07 and Trevor Zoli tenth in 19:05 to put four out of five varsity scoring runners in the top ten places. Algonac finished second as a team with Julian Walker (17:34) and Owen Beindit (17:56) taking third and fourth. Freshman Mason Pietrykowski was sixth in 18:40 for Richmond. Finn Kneer was seventh (18:52) for New Haven Merritt Academy, Liam Knuth eighth (18:56) for Cardinal Mooney Catholic, and Earl Beattie ninth (19:03) for Marine City.
Other top runners for their teams were Jack Kerrigan (19:17; 11th) for Croswell-Lexington, Jack Nicol (13th; 19:21) for Yale, Jeremy Johnson (14th; 19:27) for Marysville, Liam Bhatti (17th; 19:45) for Imlay City, James Nelson (21st; 19:55 SR) for Kimball New Life Christian, Cole Stockwell (25th; 20:08) for St. Clair, John Goodwin (35th; 20:47 for Port Huron), and Jacob Clark (71st; 24:36 PR for Blue Water Christian Academy. Representing Kimball Landmark as the sole runner, Steven Mann finished 88th in 32:42, a PR.
Cros-Lex claimed the team title in the girls' race, led by Eva Thompson (1st; 19:35) and Brynn Hurley (2nd; 21:01). Lillian Rutallie was fourth in 21:17 and Addison Stevens seventh in 22:05 to help Marysville secure a runners-up finish. Saige Cole (21:09) and Lillian Bender (21:25) were third and fifth for Yale, who took third overall. Charlotte O'Brien of Imlay City was sixth (21:58) and Stella Behnan was eighth in 22:09 for Cardinal Mooney.
Other top team finishers:
11. Aubrey Pilon 22:12 PR. Marine City
12. Kate Bennett 22:19. Algonac
13. Pauline Chapman 22:20. Richmond
15. Julia Rogers 22:52. Kimball New Life Christian
24. Livia Kuecken 23:55. Blue Water Christian Academy
21. Mary Wright 23:45. New Baltimore Anchor Bay
35. Morgan Brown 24:33 SR. Memphis
57. Lucilia Cordle 28:08 SR. Kimball Landmark
70. Abigail Thomas 36:05. New Haven Merritt Academy
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024
*At the time of this article, Portage results were not loaded into A-net or factored into the top performance list.
Photos courtesy of Yale XC Facebook.
Fourteen races between various divisions create the cross-country spectacle that is the Portage Invitational. Port Huron Northern, Yale, and St. Clair traveled to the west side of Michigan to test their mettle against some of the most competitive athletes in the state. Wyatt Murtos of Yale was the highest area finisher, taking 65th in 17:08, a PR. Fellow Bulldog Ted Rutkofske was 91st in a season-best 17:30, while Nolan Korolden was 115th in a PR of 17:44. Ethan Kreger of St. Clair was 72nd in17:15 and Brayden Prieskorn was 116th in 17:45. Yale was 16th and St. Clair 29th in the boys’ D2 scoring. Port Huron Northern athletes were Oliver Howie (191; 17:52), Carson Prone (226; 18:24), and Grant Davis (241: 19:00).
Top runners for the girls were Samantha Langolf (104th; 20:33) and Haley Sharp (113th; 20:42) for Port Huron Northern, who finished 30th as a team in D1, and Allie Komarowski (105th; 21:35) and Ella Thornton (108th; 21:39) for St. Clair. The Saints were 29th overall in Division 2.
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024
@ Cummings Center
The Dryden boys finished fourth and the girls were eighth at the Greater Flint Cross Country Championship. Logan Romain and Levi Fitchett went 4-5 in 17:38 and 17:44, respectively, personal bests for both. Colton Grzyb (18:08 PR) and Adam SaintOnge (18:10 PR) set their personal bests in ninth and tenth for Almont.
20th overall but first in her division, Cara Prusakiewicz ran a 30+ second personal best of 20:17, catapulting her into the number seven spot on the Blue Water Area top performance list. Laila Evola of Almont also set a personal best of 21:18. The Lady Raiders were fifth overall as a team.
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