Stephenson’s Canon Kuntze places first at Monday’s Norway Invitational cross country meet. Kuntze repeated the feat Wednesday at the Skyline Central Conference championship at Eben Junction. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo)

EBEN JUNCTION — Ashdeyn Gerow was in the hunt for a cross country title for a while here Wednesday.

The Rock Mid Peninsula freshman, however, couldn’t quite keep pace with Stephenson senior Canon Kuntze, who retained his Skyline Central Conference championship on this sunny and cool afternoon.

“He’s ranked No. 1 in Division 3,” Gerow said. “I knew it was going to hurt, but I stayed with him as long as I could. It helped a lot by having the competition.”

Kuntze covered the hilly 3.1-mile course in 18:29 with Gerow clocked at 18:41.2.

“This feels pretty good,” Kuntze said. “It was a nice day and I went out reasonably confident. He was definitely right with me for the first mile, then I strided it out and got little more of a gap. My arms felt heavy for some reason. Having a race (at Norway) on Monday may have had something to do with it.”

Crystal Falls Forest Park captured its first league title in more than two decades with 43 points and Munising edged last year’s champ Stephenson 66-68 for the runner-up spot this time.

“It’s a big deal for us,” Forest Park coach D.J. Rasner said. “It has been 23 years since we won a conference. Now we have our sights on the U.P. Finals. We’re going to compete and finish strong. We all share in the success together. I’m very grateful for our assistant coach (Patrick Browne). He helps us a great deal. I couldn’t do it without him.”

Munising junior Blake Lakosky took third (18:46.3), followed by Forest Park sophomore Hayden Smith (19:14.9) and Rapid River junior Jon Denkins (19:20.4).

Forest Park senior Wiliam Hoffman, who took eighth (19:43.5), was happy with the team’s success but disappointed in his race.

I didn’t perform as well as I could,” he said. “My shins were bothering me and at 1 1/2 miles I started feeling sharp pains. It felt that way in some of the practices, but this is the first time I had that in a race.”

The Stephenson girls won for the third consecutive time with 25 points. They were followed by Rapid River 44 and Superior Central 56.

“The girls did real good today,” Stephenson coach Kate Kuntze said. “They all kind of complained they were tired, but did well on tired legs. A lot of our seniors wanted to go to Norway on Monday. It’s amazing because last year we weren’t expected to win it.”

Stephenson senior Faith Cappaert became a repeat winner in 21:55.4, more than a minute ahead of the field.

“The course is a little tough,” she said. “It was a little hard coming from Monday’s race, but I wanted to get out in front right away. It feels so weird because this was my last regular season race. Although, it feels pretty good to win it again and get a course PR (personal record). I’m real happy with it.”

Big Bay de Noc freshman Evonna LaCosse was runner-up at 23:04.4 and Rapid River freshman Julia Poma placed third (23:07).

“I think Monday’s race helped me today,” LaCosse said. “This is absolutely a confidence boost. I felt better today. I like today’s weather better than the hot weather we had in some races.”

Poma was also happy with her race.

“This was my second best time,” she said. “I like the course, although it’s not my favorite. Coach (Zach Pruitt) made us run a time trial on hills on Sunday, so we were prepared for it. This is a boost of confidence going into the FInals.”

Boys

Crystal Falls Forest Park 43, Munising 66, Stephenson 68, Rapid River 72, Superior Central 84, Rock Mid Peninsula and Carney-Nadeau NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Canon Kuntze, Stephenson, 18:29; 2, Ashdeyn Gerow, Rock Mid Peninsula, 18:41.2; 3, Blake Lakosky, Munising, 18:46.3; 4, Hayden Smith, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 19:14.9; 5, Jon Denkins, Rapid River, 19:20.4; 6, Owen Truitt, Rapid River, 19:34.4; 7, Joey Mainville, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 19:43.5; 9, Eli Stiglitz, Rock Mid Peninsula, 19:56.8; 10, Nolan Dolaskie, Munising, 20:01.1.

Girls

Stephenson 25, Rapid River 44, Superior Central 56. Big Bay de Noc, Crystal Falls Forest Park, Rock Mid Peninsula, Munising, Norway and Powers North Central NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Faith Cappaert, Stephenson, 21:55.4; 2, Evonna LaCosse, Big Bay de Noc, 23:04.4; 3, Julia Poma, Rapid River, 23:07; 4, Olivia Cotey, Munising, 23:16.6; 5, Gabriella Putnam, Stephenson, 23:20.5; 6, Addie Bowerman, Munising, 23:25; 7, Rylie Cole, Stephenson, 23:38; 8, Bella Tarter, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 23:42.1; 9, Kendra Pederson, Superior Central, 23:45.7; 10, Lauren Adams, Norway, 24:12.3.