MUNISING — The Manistique boys started their cross country season on a positive note here Tuesday, earning top honors in the Munising Invitational.

They scored 107 points, followed by Kingsford 139 and Menominee 148.

“We have five seniors and two sophomores on our varsity team, and I think our experience was a factor,” said Emeralds’ coach Rebecca Gilroy. “Our top four runners are pushing the other kids. Our guys are very confident. I think this is going to motivate them.”

The Munising girls were crowned champions with 52 points, followed by Superior Central 92 and Stephenson 152.

“We picked up where we left off,” said Munising coach Mark Kinnunen. “We’re looking good. We lost Jenna Matson to graduation but picked up a handful of girls. It’s nice to have the depth. Superior Central has a bigger team than we’ve seen from them in a while. They’re a talented team.”

Munising sophomore Trevor Nolan copped the boys’ race, covering the hilly 3.1-mile course in 18 minutes, 10 seconds on this sunny, warm and humid day.

“Trevor is the kind of athlete who’s never satisfied,” said Kinnunen. “He wants to be the best runner. He’s talented and motivated. Our sophomore Dan Goss came out of nowhere. I think he’s going to push Trevor.”

A late kick helped Manistique senior Grant Mason edge Holy Name sophomore Joe Carlson for runner-up honors.

Mason was clocked at 19:24, a second ahead of Carlson. Goss placed fourth at 20:29, followed by Kingsford’s Ethan Congdon (20:34) and North Central’s Wes Knauf (20:37).

“He (Carlson) caught up to me at the top of the hill halfway through the race. It’s a long hill, about a half-mile long. It drains a lot of your energy. You have to plan it just right. I tried to stay with him, then gave it everything I had on the last hill (going into the finish). I followed Trevor through the first little loop, then I lost him.”

Carlson said he followed coach Keith Whitman’s advice.

“He explained exactly what to do on the hills, and it helped me out,” he added. “Grant just had a better kick. I’ve got to work on that. It’s a hard course, but I’m glad we did it. I’m also glad we had a long downhill after the big hill. It gave us a little bit of a break.”

Ishpeming junior Lola Korpi retained the girls’ title in 21:08, nearly 14 seconds better than a year ago. She was followed by Munising’s Monique Brisson (22:38) and Menominee senior Attica Brandt (23:13).

“We sat for a while until they counted the number of runners,” said Korpi. “We did a warm-up, then my legs got a little stiff and I felt a little tired at first. It took a mile to get warmed up again. It was pretty hot out there. The grass was really long on the course. It was like running through the jungle. With this being the first race, I didn’t know what my competition was. I didn’t want to let my guard down. I did that in the U.P. (Division 2) Finals two years ago and learned a valuable lesson.”

Manistique freshman Mya Carlson placed fourth (23:18), followed by Norway senior Taylor Adams (23:49) and Superior Central freshman Kiera McDonald (23:56).

“This is a real hilly course, but I thought I pushed through it well,” said Mya Carlson. “The long hill was hard. I was glad to see the downhill. This was a big learning experience. I gained some confidence today. We had good weather for running.”

Boys

Manistique 107, Kingsford 139, Menominee 148, Superior Central 153, Cheboygan 157, Munising 159, Stephenson 173, North Central 183, Rudyard 189, Gwinn 197, Norway 203, Rapid River 220, Ishpeming 236, Pickford 245, Holy Name 253.

Top 10 — 1, Trevor Nolan, Munising, 18:10; 2, Grant Mason, Manistique, 19:24; 3, Joe Carlson, Holy Name, 19:25; 4, Dan Goss, Munising, 20:29; 5, Ethan Congdon, Kingsford, 20:34; 6, Wes Knauf, North Central, 20:37; 7, Thomas Jenkins, Gwinn, 20:39; 8, Ben Gilroy, Manistique, 20:45; 9, Ethyn Lusardi, Stephenson, 20:46; 10, Brody Hunt, Rudyard, 21:08.

Girls

Munising 52, Superior Central 92, Stephenson 152, Cheboygan 155, Ishpeming 173, Norway 178, Rapid River 185, Rudyard 196, Menominee 199, Manistique 201, Kingsford 202, North Central 205, Forest Park 240, Pickford 269.

Top 10 — 1, Lola Korpi, Ishpeming, 21:08; 2, Monique Brisson, Munising, 22:38; 3, Attica Brandt, Menominee, 23:13; 4, Mya Carlson, Manistique, 23:18; 5, Taylor Adams, Norway, 23:49; 6, Kiera McDonald, Superior Central, 23:56; 7, Laynie Korpi, Ishpeming, 24:14; 8, Lauren Adams, Norway, 24:56; 9, Hattie Cota, Munising, 25:09; 10, Maddie Begovac, Superior Central, 25:23.