Former Marquette Senior High School cross country coach Dale Phillips presents GladstoneÕs Adam Bruce with his first-place medal for the boys race at the Dale Phillips Invitational on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, at Presque Isle Park in Marquette. (Journal photo by Ryan Stieg)

MARQUETTE — All through the week, clouds and rain have lingered over the Upper Peninsula, but on Thursday, the skies cleared and the sun broke through at Presque Isle Park in Marquette, where the Dale Phillips Invitational was held in the late morning.

In the end, it was the Marquette girls and Ishpeming boys who emerged as the brightest teams in the sun, both winning comfortably.

In the girls meet, the Redettes finished with 73 points, while Chassell was second with 99 and Gaylord a close third with 101.

Marquette head coach Kyle Detmers was pleased with his squad and said its deep roster played a role in the victory. He also said right now that the Redettes are focusing on developing a good base before things get a little more intense when the U.P. Finals loom in mid-October.

“Our girls did really well,” he said. “We were missing a girl who was sick, but our depth really showed. It’s going to be interesting because there’s going to be juggling, especially in those final two spots for varsity. Overall though, the girls did really well for their first (five-kilometer race) of the year.

“Right now, we’re just working a lot on base and not a lot of speed work because we want to peak at the end. We’re off to a good start, but we have to keep in mind that October is what we’re shooting for.”

Negaunee’s Emily Paupore won the girls race, just breaking the 20-minute barrier in 19 minutes, 57.1 seconds. Paupore, who is already well known for dominating long-distance races on the track, said she’s already doing well this season.

“I am in cross country mode, but the course was a little long today so that was a little disheartening,” she said about a course that somewhat exceeded the standard 5K of a high school meet. “I was on pace to get a time that I was proud of, but then I crossed the finish line and was like ‘What?’

“It was disheartening right when I finished, but then I found out a bunch of other people said the course was long, too, so it made more sense.

In the boys meet, the Hematites finished with 59 points to take the top spot, 12 ahead of runner-up Gaylord, while Marquette finished third with 82. Ishpeming is already off to a great start with two wins in the bag.

“This our third meet (of the season) and this is probably the biggest win of my career with 19 teams and taking first against a downstate team that is a good running team,” Ishpeming head coach P.J. Pruett said. “Never in our history has Ishpeming won this meet, so this is a big win.”

Gladstone’s Adam Bruce easily took first in the individual competition with a time of 17:01.3, while Gaylord’s Andrew Quaal was a distant second in 17:50.7 and Ishpeming teammates Jonah Broberg (17:58.6) and Spencer Giroux (18:04) finished third and fourth, respectively.