MANISTIQUE — The Manistique boys kept a championship trophy at home here Wednesday, earning top honors in their own invitational cross country meet.

Manistique, placing four among the top eight, scored 30 points. The Emeralds were followed by Engadine 53 and Mid Peninsula 58.

“That was exciting,” said Emeralds’ coach Rebekah Gilroy. “We’ve had a lot of minor injuries lately and took it easy in practice this week. Times were a little slow, but this is a challenging course. Jacob Berry came out for cross country to get in shape for wrestling and his times have improved dramatically.”

The Mid Pen girls, taking four of the top six spots, won with 25 points. Superior Central edged Munising 65-66 for runner-up honors.

“The girls ran well,” said Mid Pen coach Mark Branstrom. “They don’t surprise me anymore. They’re good athletes. They just have to keep pushing themselves.”

Manistique senior Alex Misniakiewicz won the boys’ 3.1-mile race at the Schoolcraft County Fairgrounds in 19 minutes, 43.9 seconds despite running with a pinched nerve on this cloudy, cool and breezy day.

“In the beginning, I felt strong,” he said. “I also felt strong on the uphills, but I could feel the pinched nerve on the downhills. I used a new pair of spikes and they worked well on the gravel and hills. This was my last home meet. I wanted to try to help Manistique get its first W for the year. Other than the breeze, we had perfect running conditions. Although, we didn’t have to contend with the breeze too much in the woods. This has been a good year so far.”

Engadine senior Hunter Sapp was runner-up (20:03.4), followed by teammate Conrad Spieles (20:17.9).

“This wasn’t my best time, but the hills were a factor,” said Sapp. “It’s almost like climbing Mount Everest, two steps forward and one step back. It was a relief to see the downhills. It was pretty muddy on the bottom of the big sand hill, but it was a good workout.”

MId Pen junior Daisy Englund took the girls’ race at 21:24.8, followed by sophomore teammate Landry Koski (22:10.9) and Munising’s Hattie Cota (24:08.2).

“The hills were very difficult,” said Englund. “Once you got on top it felt like you were running at a walking pace. It was still hard on the downhill because your feet were going pretty deep into the sand. Although, this should definitely help us. We all did pretty good. I’m proud of everybody.”

Koski said she was happy with the way everything went.

“I’m pleased with how my race went and how the team did,” she added. “I actually didn’t mind it (the course), except the big uphill. It was nice to go down right after. I felt like I was crawling up it. It was a good temperature. I’m glad it didn’t start raining.”

Boys

Manistique 30, Engadine 53, Mid Peninsula 58. Munising and Superior Central NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Alex Misniakiewicz, Manistique, 19:43.9; 2, Hunter Sapp, Engadine, 20:03.4; 3, Conrad Spieles, Engadine, 20:17.9; 4, Grant Mason, Manistique, 21:29.9; 5, Jude Way, Manistique, 22:21.8; 6, Paavo Mannisto, Superior Central, 22:32.2; 7, Nick Temple, Mid Peninsula, 22:34.2; 8, Jacob Berry, Manistique, 24:45.6; 9, Kaelan Mulye, Munising, 25:09.5; 10, Connor Constantino, Mid Peninsula, 25:23.9.

Girls

Mid Peninsula 25, Superior Central 65, Munising 66, Manistique 70, Engadine 73.

Top 10 — 1, Daisy Englund, Mid Peninsula, 21:24.8; 2, Landry Koski, Mid Peninsula, 22:10.9; 3, Hattie Cota, Munising, 24:08.2, 4, Cheveney Koski, Mid Peninsula, 24:37.5; 5, Maddie Begovac, Superior Central, 24:37.7; 6, Kennedy Englund, Mid Peninsula, 24:56.5; 7, Clara Gilroy, Engadine, 25:07.5; 8, Leah French, Engadine, 25:28.8; 9, Crystal Murdock, Munising, 26:29.5; 10, Betty Jo Swajanen, Superior Central, 26:48.9.