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Speed demons: Houghton boys, Chassell girls win season-opener at Kilpela Farm

Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette — Houghton’s Maria Valet and Ingrid Seagren lead the girls’ race during the Jeffers Invite Tuesday in Atlantic Mine.

ATLANTIC MINE – The Jeffers Invite has all the trappings of a cross country family reunion and rightfully so. It takes place on the Kilpela family farm, comes complete with a potluck spread of fruit, homemade cookies and finger foods and has on its invitation list around 10 area schools who cannot wait to kick off the high school cross country season.

Tuesday, under a blue sky and warm temperatures, marked this year’s annual reunion at the Kilpela Farm. The Chassell Panther girls took home the first place trophy for the girls with a score of 35, and the Houghton Gremlins won their race with a team score of 33.

“It was a great day for a race,” said Jeffers head cross country coach Samuel Kilpela, on whose family farm the run has taken place for the past 15 or so years. “The coaches always let me know that they look forward to this as it’s become an end-of-the-summer tradition and kicks off the new running season.”

Sophomore Maria Velat, of Houghton, won the varsity girls race with a time of 21:31.32. She said the course was easier than last year as a hill was eliminated.

“I was happy with my time,” she said. “The course was much flatter than usual and it wasn’t as hot. It was a little hard at the end when you can see the finish line but you realize you have to still go around the pond.”

Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette — Several girls look to break away early in the Jeffers Invite Tuesday in Atlantic Mine.

Just five seconds behind Velat was her teammate Ingrid Seagren, also a sophomore.

“The course was a little easier this year, not as hilly,” she said.

Both girls noted that they are excited to be out on the course and to start a new season. Equally enthused is their cross country coach at Houghton, Traci Welch, who is marking her 21st as the varsity head coach of both the girls and boys.

“I am excited for them. They are very dedicated all year round,” Welch said. “They cross country ski in the winter and run the trails during the summer. Both girls were All-State runners as freshmen. They will be our anchors for the upcoming season.”

Welch sees a lot of promise in her boys’ squad as well. Not only did their team win the race but did so with a difference of more 60 points between them and the second place Gogebic.

“We are expecting big things from the boys,” she said. “Joe Wood, Branden Peterson and Jake Sullivan looked really, really good.”

She added that this annual run around the farm is a relaxed one and likes the variety this cross country trail offers.

“You just don’t know what you are going to get here,” she stated. “So it’s a good measuring stick to start the season.

In the boy’s run, Adam Mazurek, of Gogebic, moved from fifth place a year ago to first place on Tuesday. He finished the run at 17:13.63.

“I love this course,” he said. “I was neck-and-neck with Joe Wood from Houghton and Nick Thomas from Ewen(-Trout Creek) for most of the race. Nick was leading from around the first mile, and then I over took him at around the mile and three-quarters mark. It was a good race, and I am excited to get back into it.”

RESULTS

Team Girls

1, Chassell, 35; 2, Houghton 57; 3, Calumet 83; 4, Hancock, 84; 5, Gogebic, 139.

Team Boys

1, Houghton, 33; 2, Gogebic, 94; 3, Chassell, 107; 4, Dollar Bay-Tamarack City, 109; 5, Jeffers,120.

Individual Girls

1, Maria Velat, Houghton, 21:31.32; 2, Ingrid Seagren, Houghton, 21:32.65; 3, Gwen Kangas, Chassell, 22:19.14; 4, Elise Besonen, Ewen-Trout Creek, 22:36.96; 5, Kamryn Sohlden, Chassell, 22:38.00.

Individual Boys

1, Adam Mazurek, Gogebic, 17:13.63; 2, Joe Wood, Houghton, 17:24.63; 3, Nikolas Thomas, Ewen-Trout Creek,18:05.15; 4, Branden Peterson, Houghton, 18:05.79; 5, Daba Holmes, Chassell, 18:23.41.

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