Gremlins boys and Purple Hornets girls earn wins in Chassell meet
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CHASSELL -- With a first-place finish, and a race time under 18 minutes (17:56.3), Brandon Van Karsen was a happy runner crossing the finish line Thursday in Chassell. He led his team, the Houghton Gremlins, to the top spot on the podium at the Blue Bolt-Panther Invite. "I'm happy with my time," said the junior harrier. "I was able to run a good even pace, attack the hills, and use the downhills well."
Teammate Tyler Rule was right behind him with a time of 18:45.6. In third place for the varsity boys was Nico Reed of Dollar Bay-Tamarack City (19.08.9).
With Van Karsen and Rule leading the way, the Houghton boys were able to secure a first-place spot with a score of 25. Their coach Traci Welch said that she has been impressed with her boys’ work ethic this fall, and it was highlighted again Thursday.
"We have a really deep team. They push each other at practices, and work well together," she stated. "Today, they pushed each other at the start of the race, and it paid off."
Coming in second as a team in the varsity boys’ division was Jeffers at 32. Ironwood took third at 85.
The work ethic and teamwork is not isolated to just the Gremlins’ boys. According to Welch, it is rampant throughout the girls’ team as well. Just ask first place runner, Holly Cooke (20:47.7).
"There are a lot of ups and downs," said the junior. "I was able to come out strong and battle through."
Behind Cooke was Ewen-Trout Creek’s Bree Besonen at 21:08.7. Alena Pietila, of Hancock, finished third with a time of 21.42.4.
While Cooke was a top finisher, it was L’Anse who won the girls team event with a score of 41. They had three top-10 runners.
Lily Froese (seventh), Kwynn Voskuhl (eighth) and Princess Pierre (10th), all contributed to the win. Behind them was Houghton at 64, and Jeffers took third at 67.