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Esky’s Douglas takes first, Bevins takes 4th

BANAT — It was a bittersweet day for the Escanaba cross country teams here Thursday.

Shortly before the start of the Stephenson (Dale Fountain) Invitational, the Eskymos learned that in-person classes were canceled at their school until Oct. 12 due to Covid-19, forcing them to cancel Saturday’s Esky Invitational and drop the Munising and Gladstone Invitationals.

“The kids were really down when they found that out,” said Esky coach Dominique Bougie. “We were missing a couple boys who were being quarantined. We tried to give the kids a pep talk and told them to run this meet like it was their last. Despite the circumstances, the kids ran through it and did well. We’re going to work hard. We’re going to do virtual practices and make the best of the situation. We’re hoping to be back on the 12th.”

Esky senior Derek Douglas earned his first victory by covering the 3.1-mile course in 18 minutes, 26.3 seconds. He was followed by Kingsford junior Luke Ruble (19:20.3), Stephenson senior Griffin Brown (19:48.4) and fellow Esky senior Brodey Bevins (19:59.9) on this cloudy and seasonably cool day.

“This was a pretty good confidence boost,” said Douglas. “I thought I ran a good time. I ran my first mile in 5:26 and was happy with that. Only, when you get a big lead, it’s sometimes hard to push yourself. I was going to try to stick with the lead pack of Gladstone and Marquette runners had they been here. I’ll be training on my own and work on my pace and strength during the next few weeks.”

The Stephenson boys won with 30 points, followed by Esky 48 and Norway 75.

“We’ve been getting better in practice,” said Stephenson coach Kate Kuntze. “I think the kids were little more motivated to run during the summer because we didn’t have a track season this spring. Our girls are very young. They’re still learning how to compete.”

Stephenson, which had the lone full girls’ team, had 15 points.

Kingsford seniors Melanie Wenzel and Sarah Kulas placed 1-2 in 22:41.9 and 22:44.9, respectively. Stephenson senior Kylee Kuntze placed third (22:57.7).

“I kind of wanted to go out fast and establish position,” Wenzel said after her first victory this season. “I also wanted to go hard on the last hill. We worked on our speed and had a couple good workouts this week.”

Kulas had a similar strategy in mind.

“I wanted to stay with Mel,” she said. “We had a couple hot days in practice, and I think it prepared us for today. We had only four runners, but they all placed. We’re pretty happy about that.”

Coach Dan Carey says he’s pleased with the progress shown by the Flivvers.

“We’re getting better,” he added. “We’re missing some girls due to illness, but we’ll be back in full force Tuesday (at the Munising Invitational). Overall, the girls ran well.”

Rapid River senior Taylor VanOss placed fourth (23:51.7), Esky sophomore Morgan Makosky was fifth (24:04.7).

“This was my best race of the year,” said VanOss. “Coach (Zach Truitt) told me not to kick it in. He wanted me to save it for Saturday (Rapid River Invitational). I ran the first mile easy, then ran some short bursts to catch everyone. It was a little humid. I would have liked it to be a little cooler. Otherwise, it was a good day for running.”

Bougie was pleased with the way the Esky girls performed.

“Three of the girls ran great,” she said. “Unfortunately, Holly Chenier had an ankle injury during the race and was unable to finish. We felt pretty bad for her. This is her senior year, and she had been doing well.”

Boys

Stephenson 30, Escanaba 48, Norway 75, North Central 90, Rapid River 98, Kingsford NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Derek Douglas, Escanaba, 18:26.3; 2, Luke Ruble, Kingsford, 19:20.3; 3, Griffin Brown, Stephenson, 19:48.4; 4, Brodey Bevins, Escanaba, 19:59.9; 5, Ethyn Lusardi, Stephenson, 20:05.8; 6, Buckly Corey, Stephenson, 20:49.7; 7, Alex Usenbigler, Norway, 21:15.9; 8, Jeff VanHolla, Norway, 21:16.6; 9, Viktor Pospisil, Escanaba, 21:16.8; 10, Don Strazzinski, Stephenson, 21:57.5.

Girls

Stephenson 15. Kingsford, Rapid River, Escanaba, North Central, Norway NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Melanie Wenzel, Kingsford, 22:41.9; 2, Sarah Kulas, Kingsford, 22:44.9; 3, Kylee Kuntze, Stephenson, 22:57.7; 4, Taylor VanOss, Rapid River, 23:51.7; 5, Morgan Makosky, Escanaba, 24:04.7; 6, Taylor Adams, Norway, 24:30.6; 7, Annabelle Neumeier, Escanaba, 24:33.5; 8, Ciara Ostrenga, Escanaba, 24:38.4; 9, Jada Kuntze, Stephenson, 25:44.1; 10, Evalyn Labs, Stephenson, 26:03.2.

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