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MUNISING -- The Rock Mid Peninsula cross country program has waited a long time for this.
Mid Pen’s boys became Division 3 champs with 126 points in the El Harger Invitational here Wednesday. Rapid River was runner-up at 141.
“This is our first win in more than 30 years,” Mid Pen coach Carl Brunngraeber said. “Our program is definitely growing. Ashdeyn (Gerow) PR’d by 11 seconds and Eli Stiglitz really stepped up. We had a really hard day on the hills Monday. These kinds of workouts are hard to schedule because the meets are sometimes pretty close together. This was a great day for us. I’m really proud of them.”
To nobody’s surprise, Marquette ran away with the overall and D-1 titles.
Kingsford senior Maria Murvich was crowned girls champion in a personal-best 20:03.8, followed by Marquette freshman Charlotte Jones (20:13.3) and sophomore Emma Ziegler (20:13.7).
“I saw 19:45 on the clock when I was coming up the last hill,” Murvich said. “I thought I had it, but that’s all right. I’m doing 40 miles a week, although soon I’ll cut back a little to work on my speed. We had perfect weather. It was a little hot in the sun, but we had a nice breeze. I stuck with the Rapid River girl (sophomore Evonna LaCosse) for a half-mile. This is a confidence boost, another win with a PR.”
Marquette grabbed six of the top seven boys places as senior Lucas Ballard won the 3.1-mile race at the Pictured Rocks Golf Course in a personal-best 15 minute, 56.1 seconds. Gerow was runner-up at 17:44 and Marquette senior Vasu Esplin placed third in 17:46.4 on a sunny and mild afternoon.
“I got under 16 for the first time,” Ballard said. “I’m excited. This is an amazing course. My legs are still a little sore. I ran 75 miles a week during the summer and right now I’m doing 65. I’ll be tapering off as we get closer to the U.P. Finals.”
The Marquette girls also won with 31 points, followed by D-2 champion Munising 70, Marinette 111, Kingsford 114 and D-3 winner Superior Central 117.
Many runners will be at Flat Rock for today’s Bay College High School Invitational.
Boys
Marquette 19, Gladstone 94, Munising 97, Rock Mid Peninsula 126, Rapid River 141, Marinette 161, Stephenson 164, Kingsford 203, Menominee 206, Superior Central 214, Carney-Nadeau 277, Engadine and Escanaba NTS.
Top 10 — 1, Lucas Ballard, Marquette, 15:56.1; 2, Ashdeyn Gerow, Rock Mid Peninsula, 17:44; 3, Vasu Esplin, Marquette, 17:46.7; 4, Lake Skytta, Marquette, 17:46.7; 5, William Lindsay, Marquette, 17:46.9′ 6, Welly Fillmore, Marquette, 17:54.4; 7, Garrett Crimmins, Marquette, 18:10; 8, Chuck Cameron, Gladstone, 18:32.6; 9, Anthony Messina, Marquette, 18:36.3; 10, Nate Stielstra, Engadine, 18:41.5.
Girls
Marquette 31, Munising 70, Marinette 111, Kingsford 114, Superior Central 117, Rapid River 130, Menominee 136, Engadine 169.
Top 10 — 1, Maria Murvich, Kingsford, 20:03.8; 2, Charlotte Jones, Marquette, 20:13.3; 3, Emma Ziegler, Marquette, 20:13.7; 4, Edye Burdett, Superior Central, 20:21.8; 5, Emma Conklin, Munising, 21:10.2; 6, Winley Brandt, Menominee, 21:14.9; 7, Ava Cantway, Marquette, 21:26.4; 8, Evonna LaCosse, Rapid River, 21:42.9; 9, Amira Perrier, Marquette, 21:57.1; Evelyn Grant, Marquette, 22:01.7.