FLAT ROCK — It was a historic day for the Bay College men’s cross country team here Saturday as it edged Kirtland Community College of Grayling 23-32 for the first victory in the program’s four-year history.

Bay freshman Zach Rose of Escanaba won the eight-kilometer (nearly five-mile) race in 30 minutes, two seconds for his first collegiate victory. He was followed by Kirtland’s Tim Gutcher (32:15) and Norse teammate, Matt Sedenquist of Gladstone (32:23), on this cloudy, chilly and windy day on the Richer farmhouse property.

“Anytime I came to a hill, I tried to work hard going up and coast on the downhill,” said Rose. “Also, whenever I hit a straight stretch, I tried to pick up the pace. The wind was the hardest part. I had momentum going right after the three-mile mark, knowing I had that grade to go down and the wind on my back. I saved as much energy as I could to battle (the wind) in the end, so in the last half-mile I could finish it out strong.”

Kirtland’s Caden Arredondo took fourth (32:31) with Bay’s Alex Morehouse fifth (36:10).

“It’s great to have a home meet,” said coach Jim Murtha. “The kids got a chance to run in front of the home crowd and their parents and friends. Zach ran phenomenally, and all the women had their best times. All the runners are getting better every day. This is definitely good for our program.”

North Central Community College of Petoskey grabbed the top three places and scored 25 points for the women’s title in the Bay College Invitational. The Norse were runners-up with 33, and Kirtland had 45.

Hilary Way, a sophomore from Charlevoix, won the 5-K event in 21 minutes, 36 seconds.

“I was really looking forward to this meet,” she said. “I hadn’t been able to run on a true cross country course in about 3-4 years. I had hoped to run a little faster, although this is a harder course than it appears.

“The wind made it challenging. I was looking forward to finishing with the wind on my back.”

She was followed by teammates Kenzie and Korrie Haas at 22:26 and 24:02, respectively.

North Central High School graduate and Bay freshman Bree Arsenault took fourth (27:55), followed by teammate Olivia Anderson of Menominee (30:22).

“This is different from high school cross country,” said Arsenault. “The competition is stronger, which makes you want to run harder. The reason why I’m running cross country is to get in shape for basketball and try to improve my time. The last stretch was kind of hard because we were going into the wind all the time.”

The Norse conclude their cross country season Saturday at Muskegon Community College.