Houghton finds success in Negaunee cross country races
Gremlins boys win, girls finish second
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NEGAUNEE -- The Houghton Gremlins boys set the pace Tuesday, earning top honors in the Negaunee Invitational cross country meet.
Houghton, which grabbed three of the top five places, scored 29 points. The Gremlins were followed by Negaunee with 52 and Westwood with 94.
The Negaunee girls edged Houghton 25-32 for the title.
"The times are really good," Gremlins coach Traci Welch said. "There's a lot of competition with a deep team. I'm really happy with how they ran. Having a deep team takes some of the pressure off. We have guys who are jayvee runners who haven't run a varsity meet. We have a lot to look forward to. I was a little worried coming into the season because we graduated a lot of seniors and didn't have very many freshmen last year. I'm happy with how the girls ran, too. Negaunee is really coming on."
Houghton junior Brandon Van Karsen was the top overall finisher among the boys, covering the 3.1-mile course at the Negaunee Township Hall in 18 minutes, 9.7 seconds on this seasonably-warm, windy and cloudy afternoon.
He was followed by Ishpeming junior Kemper Gearhart at 18:28, West Iron County sophomore Eduel Spencer (18:35.8), who finished a step ahead of Gremlins' freshman Tyler Rule.
Houghton sophomore Cole Ceane placed fifth (18:43.2) and junior teammate Tristan Wolve took 10th (19:45.7).
Junior Jason Parmalee was Hancock's leader in 17th (20:43.7).
Newberry senior Abby Taylor took the girls' race at 20:06.8. She was followed by Negaunee freshman Julia Plaxco (20:25.7), Newberry sophomore Molly McNamara (20:31.2) and Houghton junior Holly Cooke (20:57.7).
"It felt like I was pretty tired," Taylor said. "We've had a lot of meets lately. I ran my first mile in six minutes flat. I like these conditions. It was a little bit warm, but comfortable for running."
Plaxco was excited about the Miners winning their home meet.
"The Newberry girls are pretty good," she said. "I'm pretty happy with my time. I figured if I ran a PR at Al Quaal (Recreation Area), I could probably do it over here. It was pretty exciting to win as a team. A lot of our girls are seniors. It was really nice for them to win their home meet. Our program is growing. We're getting more people."
Houghton freshman Emma Jukuri placed sixth (21:35.1) and senior teammate Norah Woodruff took seventh (22:02.7).
"It went pretty good," Jukuri said. "The course was nice and the wind really didn't have much effect. I used the downhills to my advantage, and I use cross country to get in shape for basketball. The Newberry girls are really good."
Junior Bethany McParlan was Calumet's pacesetter at 22:58.7 and junior Abby Broadway led Hancock in 18th (26:06.2).
Several area teams ran in Thursday's Westwood Invitational.
Boys
Houghton 29, Gladstone 45, Negaunee 52, Ishpeming Westwood 97. Ishpeming, West Iron County, Hancock and Gwinn NTS.
Top 10 -- 1, Brandon Van Karsen, Houghton, 18:09.7; 2, Kemper Gearhart, Ishpeming, 18:28; 3, Eduel Spencer, West Iron County, 18:35.8; 4, Tyler Rule, Houghton, 18:35.8; 5, Cole Ceane, Houghton, 18:43.2; 6, Chuck Cameron, Gladstone, 19:22.6; 7, Charlie Blair, Gladstone, 19:29.2; 8, Tyler Rautiola, Negaunee, 19:32.4; 9, Nicholas Moulds, Gladstone, 19:44.3; 10, Tristan Wolfe, 19:45.7.
Girls
Negaunee 25, Houghton 32. Newberry, Ishpeming, Calumet, Hancock, Republic-Michigamme, West Iron County, Gwinn and Gladstone NTS.
Top 10 -- 1, Abby Taylor, Newberry, 20:06.8; 2, Julia Plaxco, Negaunee, 20:25.7; 3, Molly McNamara, Newberry, 20:31.2; 4, Holly Cooke, Houghton, 20:57.7; 5, Keira Waterman, Negaunee, 21:27.9; 6, Emma Jukuri, Houghton, 21:35.1; 7, Norah Woodruff, Houghton, 22:02.7; 8, Sophie Mahoski, Ishpeming, 22:41.7; 9, Bethany McParlan, Calumet, 22:58.7; 10, Brynn Wieciech, Negaunee, 23:16.7.