Sept. 15-16, 2023
It was a busy weekend as many Blue Water Area cross country teams were off competing at various invitationals around the state.
MSU Spartan Invitational -
Forest Akers Golf Course/East Lansing
Fri. Sept. 15
With over 100 teams and 12 different races ranging from middle school to the collegiate level, the MSU Spartan Invitational is one of the premier meets in the state, featuring a flat, fast course. Teams from around the Blue Water Area competed in a variety of divisions, including Anchor Bay, Cros-Lex, Richmond, and Yale.
5000-meter Boys' Spartan Elite Division
There's a reason this race is classified as elite. The first 15 runners were all under 16 minutes and the third-place finisher was last year’s D2 State Champion Connell Alford of Chelsea, running a state-leading 5k time of 15:09 (the first and second-place runners were from Ohio).
The New Baltimore Anchor Bay boys’ team had another strong showing, taking sixth place as a team. Thomas Westphal led the Tars with a fifth-place finish in 15:26.
29: Zachary Rubicz 16:31
63: Aidan Leslie 17:11
69: Greg Vogt 17:17
90: Aaron Osterman 17:47
Port Huron Northern: 16th team
47: Luke Maher 16:53
48: Luke VanderHeuvel 16:55
101: Carson Prone 17:50
112: Grant Gonser 17:59
162: Tyler Dunkin 19:16
It is worth noting that on the women’s side of the Spartan Elite Division, the race was won in an astonishing time of 16:59 by Rachel Forsyth of Ann Arbor Pioneer. That would have placed her in the top 50 of the men’s elite race and is currently the fastest time by any girl in the state by almost 45 seconds.
Lauren Thomas of NB Anchor Bay ran in the Women’s Green Division and placed fifth with a season-best time of 19:43.
Women's 5000 Meters Bronze Division (D2)
Eva Thompson led Cros-Lex to a second-place team finish. She was third overall in 19:12.
14: Morgan Newton 20:29
16: Brynn Hurley 20:37
58: Abagayle Barkley 22:07
65: Eliza Nelson 22:20
Brianna Albers paced Richmond with a 34th-place individual finish in 20:37. The Blue Devils were 23rd as a team.
87: Paulina Chapman 22:47
135: Kelsey Pendry 23:56
Yale’s top finishers were Audrey Tolan (129; 23:45) and Isabelle Goulding (133: 23:51).
Men’s 5000 Meters Bronze Division
Yale took third in a 31-team race, led by a 19th-place finish by Giovanni Pardo-Keegan in 16:50. They also had one of the lowest time spreads between runners’ finishes of any team in the meet: 1:07.
24: Acer Campbell 16:57
25: Blake Fergason 16:59
38: Kale Kovach 17:42
47: Wyatt Murtos 17:57
Cros-Lex’s Jack Kerrigan (139; 19:44) and Richmond’s Kaleb Manska (154; 19:55) also ran in the Bronze Division.
Other notable performances from the White Division (D3/4):
Boys’ Race
22: Julian Walker 17:43 (Algonac)
Girls’ Race:
59: Jasmine Walker 23:07 (Algonac)
FULL RESULTS: MSU Spartan Invitational
Holly/Duane Raffin Festival of Races -
Springfield Oaks Park
Sat. Sept. 16
With the starting gun firing at 7:20 a.m. and continuing with another race every 15 minutes, the Holly Invitational features 20 total races during the day. Over 100 high school and 40 middle school teams traveled from all over the state, including northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. It has a reputation for high-quality competition and a tough, hilly course. Local Blue Water Area teams participating included Armada, North Branch, and St. Clair.
Division 2
The St. Clair boys won the Division 2 race with a score of 129 and a 1:05 team time spread between runners. Dylan Distelrath and Vinny Schweihofer led the Saints, separated by only a few seconds with times of 16:58 and 17:01.
32: Ethan Kreger 17:44
33: Jerry Westrick 17:44
45: Dylan Schumann 18:04
The St. Clair girls finished sixth overall, paced by Gabriella Komarowski in 16th place with a time of 21:44.
20: Allie Komarowski 22:01
34: Molly McNabb 22:42
38: Aubrey Sargent 22:48
47: Clair Bacon 23:07
Division 3
In the Division 3 boys’ race, The Armada boys finished 10th and North Branch was 13th. TJ Hansen of Freeland won in 15:14, which was the fastest time of the day in any division and the second-fastest 5k time in the state, a remarkable feat on this course.
Armada: 28: Luke Nawrocki 18:26
37: Tyler Buckland 19:13
61: Robert Carrigan 20:08
68: Josh Castillo 20:48
75: Aidan Roberts 20:58
North Branch:
49: Wyatt Opperman 19:34 57: Bryce Barkowska 19:53
73: Ben Card 20:52
76: Dakota Kardell 20:59
84: Brent Castle 21:24
On the girls’ side, Armada was able to finish fourth as a team despite missing two of their top four runners. Ava Baltierra earned a “Top-10” finisher’s t-shirt by taking fifth in 20:07.
15: Sam Kook 21:29
25: Abigail Denoyer 22:09
44: Helena Reiff 23:13
52: Bree Feys 23:28
North Branch:
24: Rowan Conley 22:07
73: Isabelle Hunt 24:14
74: Lillian Osborne 24:16
85: Tracy Ludescher 26:03
FULL RESULTS: Holly/Duane Raffin Festival of Races
Autumn Classic - Stony Creek Metropark
Sat. Sept. 16
The Imlay City Spartans, Almont Raiders, and Marine City Mariners battled it out with 27 other teams at the Autumn Classic, held at Stony Creek Metropark. Here are runners from each team who finished in the top 100 spots:
Marine City Girls: 6th
10: Casidhe Fleshert 22:15
39: Emma Erdmann 23:14
58: Aubrey Pilon 24:11
59: Emma Terhune 24:14
100: Morgan Goulette 25:14
Imlay City Girls: 9th
15: Charlotte O'Brien 22:27
60: Alice Johnson 24:15
81: Laela Bhatti 24:46
82: Kendal Donahue 24:46
87: Lauryn Donahue 24:51
Almont Girls: 12th
21: Laila Evola 22:45
50: Ayla DeLaurier 23:55
74: Amanda Fitchett 24:30
78: Savanna Siewert 24:38
Marine City Boys: 14th
50: Alex Robertson 18:58
57: Jayden Robertson 19:15
68: Dalton Ross 19:29
Imlay City Boys: 18th
12: Elliot Whitney 17:34
80: Conner Wildie 19:51
93: Ethan Everhart 20:05
Almont Boys: 20th place
75: Colton Grzyb 19:47
90: Gavin Campbell 19:58
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