Houghton’s Sayen edges Helman in game of rock-paper-scissors to earn 1st at Calumet Invite; Chassell’s Rautiola captures girls title

CALUMET -- Over the years, Houghton seniors Clayton Sayen and Seth Helman have had plenty of races against each other come down to the final stretch for the top spot. On Monday at the Calumet Invite, the deciding factor was a game of rock-paper-scissors. 

As Sayen and Helmen approached the finish line side-by-side at the Calumet Swedetown Trails, the two broke out into a round of rock-paper-scissors to decide who would charge ahead to finish first. After a tie in the first round, Sayen's scissors edged Helman's paper, allowing him to pull ahead and finish first in a time of 17 minutes, 14.24 seconds, just ahead of Helman (17:14.61), to lead the Gremlins to the boys team title with 24 points on a cloudy, cool afternoon. 

It was a more relaxed outcome after the two went all-out at the Hancock Invite on Thursday, with Sayen edging Helman by a second.

"Last race we killed each other finishing, so it didn't seem very beneficial since it was just us," Helman said. 

Added Sayen: "We ran together the whole race side-by-side (today), and we talked about it before where if we had a substantial lead and there's no one with us, we'll do it and have some fun."

Barring injury or any other weird circumstance, Sayen and Helman separating from the pack was a foregone conclusion. But before the race, no one besides those two knew what was in store for the finish. 

"We knew they had something planned and kind of told us they had something planned that they were going to try if they were far enough ahead, but we didn't know what they were going to do," Houghton head coach Traci Welch said. "We were all right with it. They ran hard and had good times."

Through their first three years together, Sayen and Helman were pushed by competitors and rivals from other schools at the local meets. However, after the recent graduations of top runners at other schools, the two are left to challenge each other, all while preparing themselves for the end goal: U.P. Finals. 

"They were like this last year, too," Welch said. "Last year was the first year I gave two MVPs, and I don't know what I'm going to do this year, because you're talking about two kids who are good leaders, both work and push each other and it's hard to pick one over the other. They're right by each other and phenomenal to work with."

Houghton took the top three spots with Leif Odegard coming in at third (17:53.64). Nikolai Huotari (18:15.36) took eighth, while Joe Wood finished 10th (18:31.36) to give the Gremlins five top 10 finishes.

Gogebic's Isaiah Aili (17:57.27) finished fourth, and Chassell's Ben Tuomi (18:00.17) rounded out the top five. 

On the girls side, there was no late-race drama as Chassell's Lela Rautiola cruised to a first-place finish and a season-best time (20:45.30). The Chassell girls claimed the team title, finishing with 39 points to beat out second-place Calumet (83).

"I felt great," Rautiola said. "That was the best I've ever felt, and I hope every meet goes like that. The weather was perfect, and while I didn't start out in the lead, as I built up, I just kept feeling better."

Rautiola and Needham have been the top two local runners this season and that continued Monday, with Needham taking second (21:24.89) despite the rivals finishing with a larger gap between each other than they're accustomed to seeing.

"She stuck with me for the first mile, but I kept building the lead and was surprised she was as far back as she was," Rautiola said, "but she still pushed me."

The Chassell girls claimed three other spots in the top 10, with Jenna Pietla finishing sixth (22:13.36), Gwen Kangas taking ninth (22:28.02) and Paige Sleeman rounding out the top 10 (22:39.17).

"Our whole team has great chemistry this year," Chassell head coach Marco Guidotti said. "Our girls work really well together, and we saw some season records in terms of time. 

"Lela was pushing hard and everyone was pacing off each other. Ultimately, we want to be our best at Finals, but we're real happy with a strong team win today."

Next, the teams will compete Thursday at the Chassell Trails.

Girls team scores

1. Chassell 39; 2. Calumet 83; 3. West Iron County 101; 4. Houghton 120; 5. Hancock 122; 6. Dollar Bay 148; 7. Gogebic 211. 

Girls top 10

1. Lela Rautiola, Chassell, 20:45.20; 2. Anabel Needham, Houghton, 21:24.89; 3. Emily Carey, Ironwood, 21:43.02; 4. Taylor Clark, West Iron County, 21:51.95; 5. Clarity Gipp, Calumet, 21:57.49; 6. Jenna Pietila, Chassell, 22:13.36; 7. Avery Bociek, West Iron County, 22:19.83; 8. Natalie Maxson, Dollar Bay, 22:21.49; 9. Gwen Kangas, Chassell, 22:28.02; 10. Paige Sleeman, Chassell, 22:39.17.

Boys team scores

1. Houghton 24; 2. Gogebic 39; 3. Chassell 76; 4. Calumet 118; 5. Ironwood 145; 6. Republic-Michigamme 157; 7. Hancock 202. 

Boys top 10

1. Clayton Sayen, Houghton, 17:14.24; 2. Seth Helman, Houghton, 17:14.61: 3. Leif Odegard, Houghton, 17:53.64; 4. Isaiah Aili, Gogebic, 17:57.27; 5. Ben Tuomi, Chassell, 18:00.17; 6. Tim Rowe, Gogebic, 18:11.64; 7. Devon Byers, Gogebic, 18:15.05; 8. Nikolai Huotari, Houghton, 18:15.36; 9. Uriah Aili, Gogbeic, 18:18.64; 10. Joe Wood, Houghton, 18:31.36.