The Kingsford girls cross country team won the Gladstone Invitational on Thursday, finishing ahead of Marquette by two points. From left, are team members Baily Broecker, Taylor DeMay, Melanie Wenzel, Lily Menghini, Gabby Carey and Sarah Kulas

FLAT ROCK — The outcome of a girls’ cross country race was decided by a matter of inches here Thursday as Kingsford junior Melanie Wenzel squeezed past Menominee sophomore Hayden Buck for top individual honors in the Gladstone Barnyard Classic.

Both girls covered the 3.1-mile course in 20 minutes, 33 seconds on this cool and blustery day at Beauchamp’s Grove.

“I was behind until nearly the end of the third mile,” Wenzel said. “Both of us were trying to catch up near the end and we sprinted quite a way. It was very stressful at times. The hardest part was at the end, which made for a good race. She was very strong.”

The race for the team title was nearly as close, as Kingsford edged Marquette 39-41. Third-place Menominee scored 74 points, followed by Gladstone at 106 and Escanaba at 120.

Marquette’s boys grabbed six of the top 12 places, winning with 32 points. They were followed by Gladstone, 65; Menominee, 94; Rudyard, 109; and Stephenson, 143.

“Our boys ran a solid meet,” Gladstone coach Gary Whitmer said. “All the guys had season-bests and most of the girls ran their best times all year. I think we have some momentum going into the GNC (Great Northern Conference) meet.”

Kingsford coach Dan Carey was very pleased with his team’s performance on the day.

“Despite the muddy course we had a great day of performances, with the majority of the team running season best times,” he said. “I really liked that we didn’t give up at all during the race. Luke Ruble had a great race, with great kick that caught two runners before the finish line. Melanie (Wenzel) had to play catch-up in the last tenth of a mile in a photo finish for the win. You don’t see that too often in 5km cross country race. Track yes, but not often in cross country.”

Thursday’s effort resulted in a personal-best time for Gladstone’s Buck.

“It was a fun race,” she said. “This was also a confidence boost. I’m excited for the (Division 1) U.P. Finals. We were pushing it pretty hard for the first two miles, then it was mind over matter. I’m happy with how I did and how our team did.”

Menominee senior Katie Anderla placed third with a season-best 20:49.9, followed by Marquette’s Olivia Moffitt (20:52.6) and Kingsford’s Sarah Kulas (21:12.5). Norway freshman Taylor Adams finished 22 among 56 girl runners, with a time of 23:56.7.

“This was definitely my best race all year,” Anderla said. “This was my last race before the GNC’s, which gave me a little extra motivation.”

Gladstone sophomore Giovanni Mathews was the boys’ pacesetter in a personal-best 17:02.9. He was followed by Norway sophomore Adam Cavagnetto (17:14.2), Marquette’s Colin Vanderschaaf (17:23.4), Gladstone freshman Drew Hughes (17:25.4) and Marquette’s Hogan Nemetz (17:29.9).

“I didn’t really have a strategy today,” Mathews said. “I’ve been running here since I’ve been in third grade. I know this course well. This is like home under my feet. Dan Paul (middle school coach) gave me the love of the sport. He was like a mentor to me. I like to keep in contact with him. Having this meet during homecoming week is really cool. Now I can relax the rest of the week and be part of the school spirit.”

Cavagnetto was fresh from winning Saturday’s Iron Mountain Road & Trail Half-marathon.

“I’m trying to get back into cross country mode,” he said. “I was trying to pace off Gio and got a PR by five seconds. I’ll take that. Everything went okay.”

Junior Derek Douglas was Esky’s leader in ninth (17:51.8) and Rudyard junior Hayden Mills was 10th (17:54.5). Luke Ruble paced Kingsford in 13th (18:05.4).

Sophomore Ciara Ostrenga led the Esky girls in 11th in a season-best 21:51.9.

Boys

Marquette 32, Gladstone 65, Menominee 94, Rudyard 109, Stephenson 143, Escanaba 174, Rapid River 186, Norway 189, Kingsford 191. Manistique, North Central and Munising NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Giovanni Mathews, Gladstone, 17:02.9; 2, Adam Cavagnetto, Norway, 17:14.2; 3, Colin Vanderschaaf, Marquette, 17:23.4; 4, Drew Hughes, Gladstone, 17:25.4; 5, Hogan Nemetz, Marquette, 17:29.9; 6, Moses Waite, Marquette, 17:33.3; 7, Luke Janofski, Marquette, 17:47.6; 8, Hunter Shepeck, Menominee, 17:49; 9, Derek Douglas, Escanaba, 17:51.8; 10. Hayden Mills, Rudyard, 17:54.5.

Girls

Kingsford 39, Marquette 41, Menominee 74, Gladstone 106, Escanaba 120, Stephenson 138, Rapid River 176. Munising, Norway, Manistique, Rudyard and North Central NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Melanie Wenzel, Kingsford, 20:33; 2, Hayden Buck, Menominee, 20:33; 3, Katie Anderla, Menominee, 20:49.9; 4, Olivia Moffitt, Marquette, 20:52.6; 5, Sarah Kulas, Kingsford, 21:12.2; 6, Taylor Demay, Kingsford, 21:27.5; 7, Reegan Ketzenberger, Marquette, 21:30.7; 8, Anna Grzelak, Marquette, 21:37; 9, Hattie Cota, Munising, 21:46.1; 10, Guinn Wuorinen, Marquette, 21:49.5.