West Iron runner Jonathan Swenski (No. 1002) leads a group of runners at the start of the Kingsford Invitational cross country race on Tuesday at City Park in Iron Mountain. (Matt McCarthy/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Escanaba senior Ciara Ostrenga was very much in the hunt for an individual title at the Kingsford Invitational cross country meet Tuesday at City Park in Iron Mountain.

Her effort on this partly sunny, breezy and seasonably cool day was enough to earn runner-up honors, covering the 3.1-mile course at the Iron Mountain City Park in a season-best 22 minutes, 18.4 seconds.

“I tried to work hard on the hills,” she said. “The course has a lot of downhill which gives you an opportunity to pass some people. I didn’t want to go out too fast, but tried to start at a good pace. Couple of our girls had good races today. The weather is a little cooler than usual up here, good conditions for running. It’s usually hot up here.”

Negaunee junior Endla Harris earned her first varsity victory at 22:09.4 and Marquette freshman Monet Argeropoulos placed third (22:32.9).

“It’s very exciting to win down here,” said Harris. “This is a good course to be pushed at because it’s a hard course. I knew I had a chance to finally win a race. I just needed to push on the uphills. This is a big confidence builder. Getting first place is a good way to keep me going. It was very hot here last year. It was a little windy today, but not too bad. I enjoyed the conditions.”

Marquette edged Negaunee 27-33 for the title. Esky placed third with 80 points.

“We had a nice week off to focus on training,” said Esky coach Scott Dykema. “We trained hard last week, but needed get some downtime to recover. We came in here well rested. Ciara cut more than a minute off her previous best time. I was waiting for something like that to happen and a couple other girls had strong races. Ava Gardner and Maggie Martin did well. All the girls are dropping time.”

The Marquette boys grabbed the top five places for a perfect score of 15. Esky squeezed past Negaunee 70-71 for the runner-up spot.

“The boys did real well,” said Marquette coach Kyle Detmers. “I thought the girls did a great job, too. Usually when the temperature drops, the times drop. We’re hoping to peak at the end of the season. The Division 1 U.P. Finals are going to be tight. Negaunee, Houghton and Sault Ste. Marie have good teams.”

Marquette senior Luke Janofski earned his first victory in a season-best 17:49.7, followed by junior Colin Vanderschaaf (17:50.5) and sophomore Cullen Papin (18:27.4).

“This is a lot better than I’ve done here in the past,” said Janofski. “It was more comfortable for running than it was here last year. One of my goals was to win a race this season and knew I had a chance to win one here. I wanted to go hard in the first mile and tried to keep that pace. Only, my mouth was so dry throughout the race. This is the second week we had a perfect score. Everyone is on the same page. We’re working as hard as we can.”

Negaunee junior Judge Anderson took sixth (19:04.6) and classmate James Dank was seventh (19:27.3).

“Judge and James ran valiant races,” said Negaunee coach Vickie Poupore. “I got a little emotional when I saw Endla win her race. It was so exciting to see Endla get her first victory. The times were good. We had quite a few PRs (personal records).”

Esky junior Daniel Smith placed ninth (19:49) followed by West Iron County senior Landon Sundelius (19:53.9) and sophomore Jonathan Swenski (19:57.8).

Kingsford senior Gabby Carey took 11th in the girls’ race (23:33.9).

“Gabby ran a real strong race,” said Kingsford coach Dan Carey. “Our boys were feeling a little under the weather. It’s early yet. We have a lot of younger kids, but they’re getting stronger every day.”

Boys

Marquette 15, Escanaba 70, Negaunee 71, Stephenson 110, Menominee 122, Norway 144. West Iron County, Gwinn and Kingsford NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Luke Janofski, Marquette, 17:49.7; 2, Colin Vanderschaaf, Marquette, 17:50.5; 3, Cullen Papin, Marquette, 18:27.4; 4, Brady Ketzenberger, Marquette, 18:30.3; 5, Adam White, Marquette, 18:57.3; 6, Judge Anderson, Negaunee, 19:04.6); 7, James Dank, Negaunee, 19:27.3; 8, Seppi Camilli, Marquette, 19:40.7; 9, Daniel Smith, Escanaba, 19:49; 10, Landon Sundelius, West Iron County, 19:53.9.

Girls

Marquette 27, Negaunee 33, Escanaba 80, Kingsford 108, Stephenson 114. Menominee, West Iron County and Norway NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Endla Harris, Negaunee, 22:09.4; 2, Ciara Ostrenga, Escanaba, 22:18.4; 3, Monet Argeropoulos, Marquette, 22:32.9; 4, Tessa Bruns, Marquette, 22:37.5; 5, Attica Brandt, Menominee, 22:53.9; 6, Abby Harma, Marquette, 23:05.7; 7, Emmi Kruhak, Marquette, 23:15; 8, Lauren Ossenheimer, Negaunee, 23:17.5; 9, Marlee Plaxco, Negaunee, 23:19.9; 10, Courtney Larson, Marquette, 23:24.5.