Kuntze covered the 3.1-mile course in a personal-best 17:27.3, followed by Kingsford junior Cavan Mulligan (17:33.2) and Florence-Niagara junior Zane Phillips (18:19.3) on this sunny and seasonably cool Monday afternoon.

“Being familiar with the course helps,” Kuntze said. “You know what to expect. I knew Cavan was going to be my main competition and he absolutely pushed me. I think we push each other pretty well.”

Florence-Niagara took the team title with 39 points, followed by Crystal Falls Forest Park 62 and Stephenson 75.

Ewen-Trout Creek squeezed past Stephenson 38-39 for the girls’ championship and Kingsford placed third with 43 points.

Kingsford’s Maria Murvich was top girls runner at the Norway Invitational.

“This is a nice win for our team,” E-TC coach Brad Besonen said. “We’ve been chasing L’Anse all year and Stephenson has a strong team. They’ve come a long way.”

Rock Mid Peninsula freshman Ashdeyn Gerow placed fourth among the boys at 18:25.9 and classmate Eli Stiglitz took ninth (19:17.8).

Sophomore Kavin Jackson was Manistique’s pacesetter in 11th (19:39.6) and Holy Name senior Michael Rexford took 14th (19:50).

Kingsford sophomore Maria Murvich took the girls’ race in 20:29.5 and E-TC sophomore Bree Besonen was runner-up at a personal-best 20:50.2.

“It was a good race,” Murvich said. “The other girls definitely pushed me. One of the girls (Besonen) came up on me at mile two. I just picked up the pace and tried not to think of it too much. We had perfect conditions for this race. The course is a little tricky, but I shaved off a little more time. This is definitely a boost of confidence. I’m excited for the GNC meet.”

Besonen was followed by Menominee senior Winley Brandt in a personal-best 20:54.4.

“It was a fast meet today,” Bree Besonen said. “It was nice to win this one. This is a big boost for myself and the team. L’Anse has beaten us all year. They have some good runners.”

Brandt was followed by Stephenson senior Faith Cappaert (20:56.1) and E-TC senior Emma Besonen (22:04.6).

“I’m happy with my time,” Brandt said. “Last Thursday I had an off day at Escanaba and didn’t do too well here last year. That definitely motivated me. I wanted to stride it out. It feels to me that my time will continue to come down. It’s a sense of relief to finally get under 21. The weather was beautiful today.”

The Skyline Central meet took place Wednesday at Superior Central with the Great Northern Conference set for Thursday at 4 p.m. in Marquette.

Boys

Florence-Niagara, Wis. 39, Crystal Falls Forest Park 62, Stephenson 75, Kingsford 81, Manistique 96, Escanaba Holy Name 126. Rock Mid Peninsula, Escanaba Holy Name, Norway, Carney-Nadeau, Ewen-Trout Creek and Menominee NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Canon Kuntze, Stephenson, 17:27.3; 2, Cavan Mulligan, Kingsford, 17:33.2; 3, Zane Phillips, Florence-Niagara, 18:19.3; 4, Ashdeyn Gerow, Rock Mid Peninsula, 18:25.9; 5, Evan Parker, Florence-Niagara, 18:42.9; 6, William Hoffman, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 18:53.7; 7, Hayden Smith, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 19:10.8; 8, Christian Anderson, Florence-Niagara, 19:15.3; 9, 9, Eli Stiglitz, Rock Mid Peninsula, 19:17.8; 10, Orrin Smith, Kingsford, 19:32.4

Girls

Ewen-Trout Creek 38, Stephenson 39, Kingsford 43. Menominee, Big Bay de Noc, Florence-Niagara, Wis., Norway, Crystal Falls Forest Park, Rock Mid Peninsula, Powers North Central, Baraga, Escanaba Holy Name and Manistique NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Maria Murvich, Kingsford, 20:29.5; 2, Bree Besonen, Ewen-Trout Creek, 20:50.2; 3, Winley Brandt, Menominee, 20:54.4; 4, Faith Cappaert, Stephenson, 20:56.1; 5, Emma Besonen, Ewen-Trout Creek, 22:04.6; 6, Evonna LaCosse, Big Bay de Noc, 22:13.4; 7, Gabriella Putnam, Stephenson, 22:28.9; 8, Ina Holt, Florence-Niagara, 22:33.2; 9, Olivia Wescott, Kingsford, 22:45.1; 10, Rylie Cole, Stephenson, 23:01.9.