Girls varsity and middle school win NSL championships
Two teams came away from Tuesday’s meet in Fairview as North Star League champions. The girls’ varsity and the girls middle school teams both finished on top of the pack for the league. In addition, all high school girls and all high school boys finished with all conference honors.
For the varsity the all-senior lineup took second, fourth, sixth and tenth to earn the title. Morgan Baller (second, 23:01.9), Nina Hansen (fourth, 23:23.3), Cheyenne Bober (sixth, 24:22.3) and Justice Caddie (tenth, 48:12.9) ran well enough to bring the trophy home.
“Our Huron runners ran very well today. I am proud of all of them for their hard work and dedication in practice and in meets. The team titles and all conference honors for most of our runners is a reflection of that. We will continue to work hard and improve,” said coach Derek McLennan.
For the boys, Matt Wilbert finished second at 19:36.4 and Nick Freel placed 12th out of 23 finishers with a time of 23:37.9.
The middle school girls dominated the meet. Finishers were Avery Langlois (first, 15:23.1); Jordyn Hefele (second, 16:22.6); Taylor Hefele (fourth, 16:54.6); Faith Huss (fifth, 17:25.8); Hope Colman (eighth, 17:40.8), Amber Karsten (ninth, 17:44.9); Chelsie Bile’s (10th, 18:07.2); and Keri Colman (12th, 19:05.7)
The Rogers City’s cross-country teams ran at the Leroy Maxie Invitational Saturday at the Oscoda County Fairgrounds. The 3-mile course looped three times around trails and two livestock barns in the vacant fairgrounds area. A brutal uphill climb on a sandy trail proved a challenge for the runners midway through the course.
Baller, a three-time state qualifier, placed second in the event with a time of 21:06. She held off a charge by Olivia Gust (21:10) of North Trails and Kayla Switzer (21:13) to take the runner-up spot.
Hansen, a senior who qualified for the state meet last season, placed 10th at 21:42, just 11 seconds behind fifth place in a crowded finish.
Bober came in a few steps behind with her 12th-place finish at 21:55, five seconds out of 11th place and seven seconds ahead of 13th-place.
Cuddie placed 35th with her time of 41:59.
Jessie Ross, a freshman from Fairview High School, won her fourth race of the season in a time of 19:47.
“The course was a little hilly and did have some areas with some loose sand, which made it a little more difficult to run on but most all of our Huron runners ran their best times of the season so far so we are very happy about that,” said coach McLennan.
For the boys’ team, junior Wilbert took ninth place overall with a time of 18:29, just three seconds behind eighth-place finisher Jaymes Wildfong of Mancelona. Tyler McClure of Mancelona won with a time of 16:24.
Freel took 34th place with a time of 22:14.
The middle school runners ran a 2-mile course at the fairgrounds Saturday. Cole Brege was eighth at 14:04 in the boys’ race. Langlois placed second in the girls’ race (14:34); Keri Coolman was eighth (16:46); Jordyn Hefele ninth (17:02); Huss 10th (17:19); Bielas 12th (17:31); Taylor Hefele 13th (17:40); Hope Coolman 16th (18:28); and Karsten 18th (18:42).
In a Sept. 29 meet run in Fairview, Wilbert took second in the North Star League (NSL) jamboree with a time of 19:11 behind Alex Wanty of Hale at 17:48.
Baller placed second in the girls’ race at 23:13 behind Ross at 21:56. Hansen took fourth at 23:59, Bober was sixth at 24:32 and Cuddie placed 11th at 50:52.
