Volunteers splash Norway’s Taylor Adams (4) with some cool water as Adams competes in the 3200-meter run during the U.P. Track & Field Finals at Kingsford High School on Saturday. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

KINGSFORD — For Norway’s Taylor Adams and Forest Park’s Gaven Rintala, it was all about strategy.

The distance runners won Division 3 U.P. Track & Field finals on Saturday at Flivver Field — Adams topping the field in the 800 and Rintala defeating his competitors in the 1,600.

For both, the matter was when to make their move.

Rintala held back until the final half-lap when took off. The Trojan junior trailed Amos Norland of Dollar Bay down the stretch but finished hard to catch the Blue Bolt by almost three seconds.

“My usual gameplan is to try to stay behind the people at the front and then at the last bit try to outkick them because I’m not very good at pacing myself,” said Rintala, who ran a personal best 4:40.70. “(Norland) didn’t seem like he had that much left in him, and I was just thinking on that last lap, ‘I got ’em, I got ’em.'”

Forest Park runner Gaven Rintala (7) races the competition and the heat while chugging along in the 3200-meter run during the U.P. Track & Field Finals at Kingsford High School on Saturday. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

Taylor said she sensed her moment before the second lap of the twice-around-the-track race. She said she sensed that the runners around her didn’t have a lot left, but still, she said she wasn’t completely comfortable about making an aggressive play.

“I kind of paced off the people around me at first,” said the Norway senior, who won her first U.P. title in her final prep race. “I decided before the second lap that I was going to (make my move). I was a little hesitant, though, because I’ve gotten burned before a couple of times.”

Not this time. Adams crossed the finish line in 2:36.78, almost four seconds faster than second-place Samantha Taylor of Newberry.

“It felt really good,” Adams said of winning her final race. “It was a nice way to end my senior year.”

In the team standings, Lake Linden-Hubbell and Stephenson tied for first with 72 points each. Brimley placed third with 56 points, Munising finished fourth with 47 and Newberry wound up fifth with 42. The Knights posted a seventh-place finish with 32 points, just two points out of sixth behind Ontonagon.

Dollar Bay (30), Carney-Nadeau (28), North Dickinson (10th with 24), Bessemer (23), Baraga (16), Engadine (14), Rudyard (12), Forest Park (15th with 11), Superior Central (6), Big Bay de Noc (4), Rapid River (3) and Mid Peninsula (1) rounded out the field.

Adams’ cousin Lauren picked up a third-place finish in the 200 (27.65) and a fourth in the 400 (1:01.96). The freshman also teamed with Taylor, Lyneah Hauswirth and Abby Richter to take second in the 800 relay (1:54.83).

North Dickinson was led by Aubrey Applekamp’s runner-up finish in the high jump (4-8). Aunika Lindholm contributed heavily to the Nordics with a fourth in both the 1,600 (6:05.86) and the 3,200 (13:21.17) and joining Applekamp, Mya Grunlund and Jessia Harwath to take fourth in the 3,200 relay (11:06.36).

Forest Park freshman Ava Fischer paced the Lady Trojans with a third in the 300 hurdles (49.05) and a fourth in the 100 hurdles (17.24).

In the boys event, senior Samuel McKissack joined Rintala in the winner’s circle for Forest Park by winning the 110 hurdles in 16.71. Felix Quevedo took third in that race (18.240 and finished third in the 300 hurdles (45.78).

Senior Tyler Neuens led Norway with a third-place result in the 200 (23.77) and by contributing to the third-place 800 relay team with Mason Trudeau, Cole Davy and Wyatt Spade (1:38.08).

North Central was topped by Dylan Plunger, who won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 10 inches. He also combined with Lane Gorzinski, Elijah Gorzinski and Luke Gorzinski to finish fourth in the 400 relay (47.45).

Munising won the boys trophy with 103.5 points.

Newberry placed second with 81, Bessemer took third with 52, Rapid River wound up fourth with 44 and Forest Park rounded out the top five with 43 points.

Dollar Bay (40), Stephenson (40), Lake Linden-Hubbell (30.5), Chassell (16), Norway (tied for 10th with 14), North Central (tied for 10th with 14), Engadine (12), Paradise-Whitefish Township (10), Watersmeet (9), Rudyard (8), Wakefield-Marenisco (5), Superior Central (4) and North Dickinson (1) followed.

The Nordics received their point from their 1,600-relay team of Miles Lindholm, Trenton Kramer, Nick Conery and Spencer Kramer, which finished sixth in 4:09.89.