IRON MOUNTAIN — The Houghton boys were very much in the title hunt here Tuesday, but came up a point short to Marquette in the Kingsford Invitational cross country meet.

Marquette scored 38 points, followed by Houghton 39 and Gladstone 90.

The Marquette girls also won with 51. Kingsford edged Houghton 68-73 for runner-up honors.

“I’m real pleased with how we run,” said Houghton coach Traci Welch. “I think our girls’ team would have been right up with Marquette. We plan to move a couple jayvee runners up to varsity for the next meet (Thursday’s Hancock Invitational). It was hot out there today. It had been cool in our area and we hadn’t run in any kind of heat. We’re happy with how the kids did. I thought they adjusted well.”

Houghton senior Joe Wood won the 3.1-mile race at the Iron Mountain City Park in 18 minutes, 21.5 seconds. He was followed by Gladstone sophomore Giovanni Mathews (18:23.5), Norway sophomore Adam Cavagnetto (18:33.2) and Houghton senior Branden Peterson (18:56.1).

“It was a tight one,” Wood said. “You had to stay hydrated because it was very hot. I didn’t want to go out too hard because of the heat. These are the kinds of races that build character. I just gave it all I had in the end.”

Houghton’s Jake Sullivan placed 10th (19:26.5), Evan Labyak took 11th (19:32.3) and Davin Evans was 13th (19:32.9).

Kingsford junior Melanie Wenzel won the girls’ race at 21:54.8, followed by Houghton’s Ingrid Seagren (22:11.9), Kingsford’s Sarah Kulas (22:44.3), Menominee’s Hayden Buck (22:51.5) and Houghton’s Maria Valet (22:57.9).

“I stayed hydrated all day,” Wenzel said. “The combination of the heat and humidity and hills made it challenging. This is the warmest race I ran in. I didn’t go out too hard. I wanted to save some energy for the end of the race. Running in this heat was a big adjustment. It affected my strategy a little. This is the biggest meet I’ve run in. All the teams were competitive and pushed each other. I feel I’m improving.”

Seagren said she was able to see Wenzel through the entire race.

“In the beginning it was a little closer, but she gradually increased the lead,” she said. “I’m pretty happy with my race considering the conditions. I tried to make sure I drank enough water today. I also tried to sprint at the end. I didn’t want to let anyone pass me. This is a pretty tough course. I tried to push it on the uphills and get some speed on the downhills.”

Marquette’s Brady Ketzenberger won the boys’ JV race in 20:29.4. The Redettes’ Courtney Larson was girls’ champion (24:37.6), followed by Houghton’s Autumn Eles (24:49.6), Sage Resch-Chimmer (26:09.5) and Mercedes Gregerson (27:00.7).

Boys

Team standings — Marquette 38, Houghton 39, Gladstone 90, Menominee 104, Rapid River and Stephenson 158, Norway 159, Kingsford 199. Escanaba, Florence, Wis. and North Central NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Joe Wood, Houghton, 18:21.5; 2, Giovanni Mathews, Gladstone, 18:23.5; 3, Adam Cavagnetto, Norway, 18:33.2; 4, Branden Peterson, Houghton, 18:56.1; 5, Peyton Osborne, Marquette, 19:00.5; 6, Moses Waite, Marquette, 19:02.1; 7, Colin Vanderschaaf, Marquette, 19:09.5; 8, Luke Janofski, Marquette, 19:13.9 9, Landen Clausen, Menominee, 19:16.5; 10, Jake Sullivan, Houghton, 19:26.5.

Girls

Team standings — Marquette 51, Kingsford 68, Houghton 73, Menominee 84, Gladstone 116, Stephenson 175, Escanaba 178, Florence, Wis. 211, Rapid River 215. Norway, West Iron County and North Central NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Melanie Wenzel, Kingsford, 21:54.8; 2, Ingrid Seagren, Houghton, 22:11.9; 3, Sarah Kulas, Kingsford, 22:44.3; 4, Hayden Buck, Menominee, 22:51.5; 5, Maria Velat, Houghton, 22:57.9; 6, Olivia Moffit, Marquette, 23:03.4; 7, Reegan Ketzenberger, Marquette, 23:06.2; 8, Katie Anderla, Menominee, 23:23.5; 9, Josie Danielkiewicz, 23:35.8; 10, Jamisyn Bergeron, Gladstone, 24:02.6.