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With hot sun, a bit of sand on the trails, a decent hill near the finish, and another wrong turn on the course (middle school boys)…it must be Columbus Park! Blue Water Area Conference cross country action commenced at the (increasingly infamous) course that has come back to life this year: Columbus Park hosted three meets so far this season and D2/3 regionals will be held there in late October.
Algonac’s Julian Walker (junior), the individual winner of the first BWAC matchup for the boys, mentioned the unique challenges that cross country courses can bring: “I kinda messed up on the part near the end where you go up the hill. I also needed more dirt on the sides (of the sandy trail) so I could get more traction. Other than that, it went pretty well,” Walker said after his race. Despite the obstacles, Walker was able to claim his first individual BWAC victory in 17:23. He led wire-to-wire and held off a late-race charge by Yale’s Wyatt Murtos, who finished only a second behind. “I didn’t really care what time I ran, I just wanted to pace with someone, but I was in front so I just tried to run the best I could.” Last fall at the BWAC championships, Walker finished fourth behind the dominant senior Yale trio of Gio Pardo-Keegan, Blake Ferguson, and Acer Campbell and wasn’t quite satisfied with his finish. This time? His goal is to win. “I want to keep it up and see what happens. Yale’s going to be right there.”
Walker was correct about Yale: the Bulldogs went 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 12 and easily won as a team, 23 to Algonac’s 79. Yale head coach Jared Shutko said, “We stuck to our game plan of running in packs and it worked out well for us. Our top three of Murtos (2nd; 17:24), Kovach (3rd; 17:36 SR), and Rutkofske (4th; 17:53 SR) continue to place near the front of every meet. Korolden, Rhodes, Nicol, Dusett, and VanConant weren’t too far behind in another pack. I think if we can continue to run in packs it will help us later on in this season.” Shutko gave a nod to the underclassmen stepping up to contribute. “I was glad to see some of the younger guys continuing to improve every race. Freshman Logan Carrier had a great day with another PR and continues to impress me with his work!” The Algonac Muskrats were second as a team largely due to Walker’s win and teammate Owen Beindit’s 5th-place finish (18:00).
BOYS Official Team Scores
| Other team top finishers: 7. Connor Pepin 18:27 PR Cros-Lex 10. Mason Pietrykowski 18:56 Richmond 11. Colton Grzyb 19:09 Almont 16. Robert Carrigan 19:37 Armada 25. Wyatt Opperman 20:12.52 North Branch 30. Liam Bhatti 20:42 PR Imlay City |
Senior Eva Thompson of Cros-Lex remained undefeated, adding another first place next to her name in the race results for the girls' division. Winning by exactly a minute, she ran 20:08 to put the first of three BWAC match-ups in her favor. “I liked the course for the most part,” Thompson said. “The hill at the end is hard but I felt pretty good.” When asked about her goals for the season, Thompson stated she’s looking ahead to future meets: “I want to run a personal best this season. I also want to get an all-state medal. I wanted to do that last year so I’d like to get it this year.”
Armada took the team win with 46 points, led by Brooklyn Khon in second place. The Tigers’ 5-6 punch of Helena Reiff (22:15 SR ) and Abigail Denoyer (22:20 SR) sealed the deal despite Cros-Lex’s 1-3 finish by Thompson and Brynn Hurley (21:19), and freshman Madelyn Barkley in ninth (22:44). “We knew it would be a close race between us, Yale, and Cros-Lex and that it would come down to how our fourth and fifth runners would do compared to theirs,” confirmed Josh Khon, Armada’s assistant coach. “We were able to put our fourth and fifth (Addison Noteboom, Emma Buckland) where we needed them to be and we are pleased with how they ran in hot conditions and on a challenging course.”
Another freshman, Saige Cole (21:33), led Yale to fourth place, but their team spread has inched the gap closer each meet. It should be interesting to see the team race dynamics for the next BWAC jamborees.
GIRLS Official Team Scores
| Other team top finishers: 7. Rowan Conley 22:28 North Branch 8. Kate Bennett 22:38 Algonac 10. Laila Evola 22:57 SR Almont 11. Pauline Chapman 23:00 Richmond 13. Charlotte O'Brien 23:05 Imlay City |
Lake St. Clair Metropark
BOYS Official Team Scores 1. Warren Cousino 59 2. Harrison Twp. L'Anse Creuse 71 3. Madison Heights Lamphere 89 4. Marysville 99 5. Clawson 103 6. Marine City 177 7. Roseville 188 8. Warren Lincoln 198 9. New Haven 217 10. Warren Woods Tower 245 11. Lake Shore St. Clair Shores 318 | Top Finishers in the Blue Water Area: 8. Ryan Jackins 19:25 Marine City 9. Earl Beattie 19:28 Marine City 13. Jeremy Johnson 19:53 Marysville 15. Max Durham 20:00 SR New Haven *Season opener for New Haven 25. John Goodwin 20:49 PR Port Huron |
Marysville won the girls' MAC Blue Jamboree with Rutallie leading the Vikings in a season-best time and a tight pack followed with Stevens and Chapman finishing in the top seven places. New Haven had a strong season-opener with Emma Reimer and Sophia Szabo going 9-10; Szabo set her personal best in her first race this fall.
GIRLS Official Team Scores
| Top Finishers in the Blue Water Area: 2. Lillian Rutallie 21:47 SR Marysville 5. Addison Stevens 22:39.9 Marysville 6. Aubrey Pilon 22:59.9 Marine City 7. Joselyn Chapman 23:09.5 Marysville 9. Emma Reimer 24:23.6 SR New Haven 10. Sophia Szabo 24:29. PR New Haven 30. Abigail Alva 27:17 PR Port Huron |
The Port Huron Northern boys finished seventh as a team with Oliver Howie in 22nd (19:14) and Carson Prone in 23rd (19:14). Samantha Langolf led the girls in fourth with a time of 22:21; the team was also fourth.
Joshua Macri of Lutheran North continued his winning streak at the Catholic High School Jamboree, running 16:56 to take first. His team easily won, scoring a low 19 points and putting several others in the top ten: Xavier Roman (2nd; 17:25), Samuel Kochensparger (3rd; 18:04), Jack McMahon (6th; 18:50), and Oliver Alef (7th; 19:04).
For the Lady Mustangs, Samantha Whitlam set a new personal best of 20:16 to take third place, leading a close pack behind her: the girls finished third as a team.
15. 10 Evelyn Buckley 21:38.6 SR
18. 10 Avery Stallmann 22:06.1
20. 9 Chloe Boright 22:29.6
21. 12 Isabella LaPerriere 22:36.0
In another Catholic High School League Jamboree, Marine City Cardinal Mooney and Austin Catholic were back in action. Evan Jacobs was tenth in 18:44 to lead the Cardinals of Mooney and they finished third as a team. Nico DiPonio (13th; 19:06) and Andrew Rosso (14th; 19:07) led Austin Catholic to a fifth-place team finish.
BOYS Official Team Scores 1.Royal Oak Shrine 27 2.Ann Arbor Greenhills 55 3.Cardinal Mooney Catholic 116 4.Riverview Gabriel Richard 123 5.Austin Catholic 159 6.Allen Park Cabrini 164 7.Waterford Our Lady 170 8.Madison Heights Bishop Foley 170 9.University Liggett 172 | Top Girls Finishers: 19. Maya Ferguson 24:52.8 Cardinal Mooney Catholic 41. Shelby Theut 29:42 Austin Catholic |
As always, thank you to Elite Feet of Port Huron for partnering with Blue Water Running to sponsor coverage of cross country in the Blue Water Area. If you need any running apparel, shoes, spikes, or helpful advice, head to 327 Huron Ave in downtown Port Huron.
