The Jeffers-Kilpela Farm Invite has marked the start of the fall running season in this area for more than 20 years now, and this year’s races did not disappoint.

The Jeffers Jets boys’ team earned a first-place finish with a score of 38. Houghton followed at 59, and Ironwood notched a third-place spot with a score of 98.

On the girls’ side, the Houghton Gremlins took first place with a score of 33. Hancock earned second with a score of 53, and Ewen-Trout Creek came in third with a score of 73.

“It is a great way to kick off the season,” said Jeffers coach Sam Kilpela. “We have some good runners, and this is always a fun start to the year.”

Houghton’s Tessa Rautiola sets the pace for the girls at the Jeffers-Kilpela Farm Invite on Wednesday in Atlantic Mine. She won first place with a time of 20:29. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)

As for individual winner, there were quite a few familiar faces. Among them was Kalvin Kytta of Chassell. He came in first for the boys with a time of 17:33. Behind him was Landon Larson, of Jeffers, at 18:08. Zach Smith, of Ironwood, took third with a time of 18:13.

“It felt good. I love this course,” said Kyoto, after crossing the finish line. “I had a great summer of training – running almost every day. I have stayed healthy, and it has paid off.”

Rautiola echoed similar sentiment as the first-place finisher on the girls’ side. She came in at 20:29. Aubrey Smith, of Ironwood, came in second with a time of 21:43. Rautiola’s teammate Roman Trevino Peterlin took third with a time of 22:15.

“I am happy with my time,” said Rautiola. “I like this course. It is not too hilly, but I want to get better as the season goes on.”

Hancock Bulldogs coach Jenn Smith was pleased with her team’s performance on Wednesday, and is looking forward to another successful season. The Bulldogs girls’ team are the reigning U.P. state champions and have been for several years now.

“We have some seasoned runners in Rayna Towles and Ella Keranen, plus a new freshman (Alena Pietila) who is a phenom,” noted Smith.

Houghton’s coach, Traci Welch, is equally excited about her teams’ prospects. She related that there is a lot of hard work going on with the boys’ and girls’ squads.

“It was a good day for Gremlin runners,” she stated. “We have a lot of new runners and some veterans who are putting the time in.”

She noted the top-first performances of new runner Anderson Limkemann (ninth place) and freshman Brandon Van Karsen (eight place) on the boys’ side, and the strong performance of Romi Mattson on the girls’ side (11th place).

As for the girls’ top finisher Rautiola, Welch couldn’t be prouder.

“Tessa put in the work in the off season, and it showed today,” said Welch. “Even better she is a great leader for us as a team.”