MARQUETTE - Cross country runners were in short supply at Superior Central this season.

Despite low numbers, coach Sandy Smith helped the Cougars field competitive teams and was selected Division 3 Coach of the Year Wednesday during the annual fall meeting of the Upper Peninsula Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Superior Central boys, with seven on their roster, were crowned U.P. champs for the first time since 1989 when they earned a Class D title. The Cougars also earned the CUP/Skyline title.

Superior Central's girls won the Carney-Nadeau Invitational and were runners-up by six points to North Central in the Central U.P./Skyline Conference Meet during the brief time they had a full team (five runners). The Cougars, otherwise, ran much of the season with four.

North Central's girls, fresh from gaining their third straight D-3 title, were named small school Team of the Year. The Jets won nine times and were runners-up twice during their 14-meet schedule.

Painesdale Jeffers senior Jon Kilpela was selected U.P. Male Runner of the Year. The youngest of five brothers to come through Jeffers' program, he became the first Kilpela to be crowned a U.P. (D-3) champion.

Kilpela beat Ironwood junior Alan Peterson, last year's U.P. Runner of the Year, 2-of-3 times this season. Peterson earned West Pac Conference Runner of the Year honors for the third consecutive time earlier this month.

Munising junior Abbey Kelto earned U.P. Female Runner of the Year honors after winning all but two races this year. Kelto, who repeated as U.P. D-2 and Mid-Peninsula Conference champion, was runner-up to Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart's Bridget Bennett at Newberry and took third while battling a head cold at Gladstone.

Gladstone's Gary Whitmer and Marquette's Mike Leanes were selected D-1 Co-coaches of the Year. Matt Dennis of L'Anse earned D-2 honors.

Whitmer led the Gladstone girls to their first U.P. runner-up finish since 1981. Leanes guided the Marquette girls to their ninth straight D-1 title and the boys to their first championship in three years.

Marquette swept large school Team of the Year honors, also taking both ends of the Great Northern Conference title. The Munising boys, crowned U.P. D-2 and M-PC champs, earned small school Team of the Year laurels.

Joining Kilpela and Peterson on the boys' Dream Team were Marquette's Mickey Sanders and Reed Payant, Houghton's Evan Griffith and Munising's Alex Zaleski and Jake Mahoski.

Remaining girls' Dream Team picks were Rapid River's Erin Holmberg, Gladstone's Lindsey Lusardi, Calumet's Nikki Kiilunen, Kingsford's Teri Brown, North Central's Katie Granquist and Superior Central's Lauren Spranger.

Other area all-state selections in D-1 were Gladstone's Nick Olesak and Sam Kallman.

Area D-3 all-staters also include North Central's Tyler Veraghen, Brooke Granquist, Krystal Piotraschke and Amanda Arnold and Superior Central's Tim Wolfe, Lukas Maki, Justin Chartier and Ali Rittenger.

Earning All-U.P. in D-1 are Gladstone's Casey Olson, Caleb Whitmer, Dan Becker and Jessica Lung and Escanaba's Ryan Berhow.

Additional area All-U.P. picks in D-3 include North Central's Tyler Mercier and Katie Kleiman and Superior Central's Jamie Adkins and Jamie Seppanen.

All U.P. Cross Country

DREAM TEAM

Boys - Jon Kilpela, Painesdale Jeffers; Alan Peterson, Ironwood; Mickey Sanders and Reed Payant, Marquette; Evan Griffith, Houghton; Alex Zaleski and Jake Mahoski, Munising.

Girls - Abbey Kelto, Munising; Erin Holmberg, Rapid River; Lindsey Lusardi, Gladstone; Nikki Kiilunen, Calumet; Teri Brown, Kingsford; Katie Granquist, North Central; Lauren Spranger, Superior Central.

Boys

Division 1 - Mickey Sanders, Reed Payant, Austin Wissler, Josh Michels, Sam West, Andrew Ulmstead, Matt Sundell, Marquette; Evan Griffith, Houghton; Clinton Bergman, Gwinn; Nick Olesak, Casey Olson, Caleb Whitmer, Dan Becker, Gladstone; Dylan McKevitt, Negaunee; Jacob Ellis, Sault Ste. Marie; Ryan Berhow, Escanaba.

Division 2 - Alan Peterson, Dominic Beckman, Ironwood; Alex Zaleski, Jake Mahoski, Ryan Goings, Corey Nayback, Ryan Graves, Andrew Kelto, Munising; Corey Gage, Newberry; David Hebert, Mike Hull, West Iron County; Kris Turunen, Matt Korpi, Dylan Seavoy, L'Anse; David Jarvie, Drew Otten, Rudyard; Jeff Wood, Westwood; Jon Newlin, Stephenson; Andrew Kangas, Norway.

Division 3 - Jon Kilpela, A.J. Yokie, Ethen Kinnunen, Painesdale Jeffers; Tyler Veraghen, Tyler Mercier, North Central; Teryn Miller, Tyler Anderson, DeTour; Tim Wolfe, Lukas Maki, Justin Chartier, Jamie Adkins, Superior Central; Troy Rynnanen, Joel Kangas, Joel Larson, Chassell; Luke Murray, Cedarville.

Girls

Division 1 - Teri Brown, Emily Lawton, Audra Hagan, Kingsford; Lindsey Lusardi, Sam Kallman, Jessica Lung, Gladstone; Alicia Romano, Alex Bott, Tara Dowling, Emma Powers, Marquette; Nikki and Lindsay Kiilunen, Stephanie Parks, Calumet; Emily Humes, Angela Becia, Rebecca Gast, Houghton; Stacey Mathieu, Faith Gunderson, Menominee.

Division 2 - Abbey Kelto, Hillary Guynn, Aliisa Paquette, Munising; Erin Holmberg, Rapid River; Jacyln Waara, West Iron County; Alyssa Chapman, Cayle Gray, Westwood; Nicole Elmblad, St. Ignace; Kari Strand, Lindsey Chiantello, Anne Marie Buchko, Ironwood; Michelle Wood, Tara Meleen, Paige Koskinen, L'Anse; Courtney Klaty, Newberry; Brook Beaudo, Stephenson; Megan Kangas, Norway.

Division 3 - Lauren Spranger, Ali Rittenger, Jamie Seppanen, Superior Central; Katie and Brooke Granquist, Kystal Piotraschke, Amanda Arnold, Katie Kleiman, North Central; Allison Fallon, Nicole Leclaire, Chassell; Brandi Kopitz, Pickford; Erin Currie, Jessie Duncan, Cedarville; Kayla Semmens, Miranda Aho, Brittany Puska, Painesdale Jeffers.

SPECIAL AWARDS

Runner of the Year

Boys - Jon Kilpela, Painesdale Jeffers

Girls - Abbey Kelto, Munising

Coach of the Year

Division 1 - Gary Whitmer, Gladstone and Mike Leanes, Marquette

Division 2 - Matt Dennis, L'Anse

Division 3 - Sandy Smith, Superior Central

Team of the Year

Large school - Marquette boys and girls

Small school - Munising boys and North Central girls.