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MARQUETTE -- A girls' cross country meet was close in more than one way here Friday as Marquette squeezed past Negaunee 50-51 for the team title, followed by Houghton with 62 points in the Queen City Invitational.
Houghton senior Ingrid Seagren used a strong finishing kick to earn top individual honors, covering the 3.1-mile course at Presque Isle Park in 20 minutes, 39.3 seconds on this cloudy and cool morning.
Ishpeming sophomore Lola Korpi was runner-up at 20:46, followed by Negaunee junior Endla Harris (21:54.2) and Houghton senior and defending Upper Peninsula Division 1 champion Paige Sleeman (22:08.1).
"With this being my senior year, I'm trying to make every race count," said Seagren. "Lola definitely pushed me a lot. I would love to run at (Michigan) Tech, although I'm definitely keeping my options open. I have plenty of motivation to do well. I tried to go out as hard as I could and see what I could do. The weather conditions were about perfect. It was comfortable for running."
Marquette's boys, placing six among the top eight, won with 20 points. They were followed by Houghton 43 and Escanaba 84.
The girls' leaders were running side by side with about a half-mile remaining before Seagren gained the upper hand.
"When I was walking the course, I was wishing there would be some competition here today," said Korpi. "You can't win them all. Ingrid was my competition in track, and we'll be in many of the same races this season. You learn more when you finish behind somebody. Hopefully, she'll push me into the 18s this year. It'll come down to who feels better on that given day."
Westwood sophomore Retta Boburka took fifth (22:16.7). Marquette junior Courtney Larson was sixth (22:45.7), and Negaunee freshman Marlee Plaxco was seventh (22:50).
"I'm really proud of the girls," said Negaunee coach Vickie Poupore. "Marquette always has a great program, and Houghton has a real good team. We had three freshmen running and one got seventh place, and we're happy Endla came in third. They ran hard all summer. Some had PRs (personal records) today, which is very exciting."
Esky senior Ciara Ostrenga was the area's leader in 15th (23:19.9).
"Ciara made up some ground out there, and Allie Simon did real well," said Esky coach Scott Dykema. "We have a lot of freshmen on the girls' team, and some of them looked real strong. I'm happy with the teams, and more importantly, the kids are happy with themselves. They seem to be enjoying it. They're a good group of kids. They're good listeners."
Houghton senior Eric Weiss earned the boys' title at 17:26.6, followed by Marquette senior Luke Janofski (17:51.1) and junior Brady Ketzenberger (17:53.6).
"At first, I just wanted to feel out the field," said Weiss, who averaged 35 miles a week this summer. "I was a little nervous coming in here but was able to start relaxing a little after the second mile. The temperatures were in the low 60s. It was a perfect day for a race. It felt good to just get a race in."
Munising freshman Trevor Nolan placed sixth (18:26.6), and Kingsford senior Luke Ruble took ninth (18:38.7).
"The Houghton boy ran a nice race," said Marquette coach Kyle Detmers. "We were missing Carson (Vanderschaaf), but we have a lot of depth this year. Brady has really improved from last year. Our top four girls, except for Courtney, have never really run varsity before. This is a real good start for our team."
Esky junior Matt Dykema was the area's pacesetter in 17th (20:02.3).
"We had a group of four guys who were very competitive," said coach Dykema. "Our freshmen were running strong. I'm very impressed. Some of them are already at their best times."
Houghton coach Traci Welch was happy with the Gremlins' performance.
"We're right in the mix," she said. "Ingrid had a great race, and she ran a smart race. Lola is a good runner, and Paige looked real good. Eric looked phenomenal, and I'm really happy with our freshman boys. All of our kids are willing to work. The Marquette boys are just phenomenal."
Boys
Marquette 20, Houghton 43, Escanaba 84, Negaunee 100, Westwood 130, Manistique 167. Kingsford, Munising, Holy Name, Ishpeming, Gwinn and Newberry NTS.
Top 10 -- 1, Eric Weiss, Houghton, 17:26.6; 2, Luke Janofski, Marquette, 17:51.1; 3, Brady Ketzenberger, Marquette, 17:53.6; 4, Cullen Papin, Marquette, 18:22.5; 5, Colin Vanderschaaf, Marquette, 18:23.3; 6, Trevor Nolan, Munising, 18:26.6; 7, Adam White, Marquette, 18:32.4; 8, Chase Thomsen, Marquette, 18:35.5; 9, Luke Ruble, Kingsford, 18:38.7; 10, James Dank, Negaunee, 18:57.2.
Girls
Marquette 50, Negaunee 51, Houghton 62, Munising 101, Westwood 128, Escanaba 132, Manistique 201. Kingsford, Ishpeming and Newberry NTS.
Top 10 -- 1, Ingrid Seagren, Houghton, 20:39.3; 2, Lola Korpi, Ishpeming, 20:46; 3, Endla Harris, Negaunee, 21:54.2; 4, Paige Sleeman, Houghton, 22:08.1; 5, Retta Boburka, Westwood, 22:16.7; 6, Courtney Larson, Marquette, 22:45.7; 7, Marlee Plaxco, Negaunee, 22:50; 8, Abby Harma, Marquette, 22:54; 9, Jenna Matson, Munising, 22:56.5; 10, Lauren Ossenheimer, Negaunee, 22:58.8.