MARQUETTE — A sea of red swamped the competition here Thursday as the Marquette boys cruised to victory in the Dale Phillips Invitational cross country meet.

The Redmen placed seven among the top eight and scored 16 points, followed by Houghton 74 and Escanaba 99 as the varsity and JV teams ran at the same time.

Marquette senior Carson Vanderschaaf won the 3.1-mile race in 16 minutes, 54.5 seconds on this sunny, warm and humid day at Presque Isle Park.

“It was a little warmer and more muggy than last week,” he said. “Overall, I’m pretty happy.”

He was followed by classmate Brady Ketzenberger (17:42.3), junior Cullen Papin (17:51.2), sophomore Chase Thomsen (17:52.2) and Munising sophomore Trevor Nolan (17:57.3).

The Marquette girls also won, with 27 points, followed by Houghton 40 and Hancock 102.

“I’m thrilled we got third considering how strong Marquette and Houghton are,” said Hancock coach Jen Smith. “Marquette has so many runners and Houghton doesn’t just go away. They keep coming and coming and coming. The kids were a little tired after doing races two days in a row, but they still performed well.”

The Bulldogs, led by senior Maylie Kilpela in 13th (22:50) this time, were runners-up to Calumet in Wednesday’s Jeffers Invitational at Atlantic Mine.

Ishpeming junior Lola Korpi remained unbeaten in three races at 20:51.2, and Houghton freshman Tessa Rautiola (21:29.9) held off Marquette sophomore Monet Argeropoulos (21:36) for runner-up honors Thursday.

“It got real warm, and the humidity made it hard to breathe,” said Korpi. “Although, I was well hydrated. There are some freshmen this year who are trying to catch me. I thought she might stay with me the whole race. I was a little slower than I was here last week, but my time on this course is better than last year. I hope to get under 20 minutes, although everything (weather and competition) has to be perfect. There were times when I was looking over my shoulder, and there was no one. I have to learn to push myself even when nobody’s around.”

Several runners stayed close for nearly a mile before Korpi started to pull away.

“I thought the race went pretty good,” she Rautiola, who ran junior high cross country at Jeffers. “I’m pleased with my time. I just wanted to keep my pace. It was fine when we were running in the woods, then it got hot in the sun.”

Manistique freshman Mya Carlson reached the top 10 in 22:49.9, followed by Menominee senior Attica Brandt (22:48.9),

“There was a lot of competition here,” said Carlson. “The competition definitely makes you run faster. I’m getting pretty excited for our home meet.”

Senior Grant Mason paced the Manistique boys in 12th (19:33.5), followed by sophomore Ben Gilroy (19:33.7).

The Emeralds host their invitational at Schoolcraft County Fairgrounds Wednesday.

Junior Annabelle Neumeier was Esky’s pacesetter in 14th (22:51.8), and senior Dan Smith led the boys in 18th (19:57.6).

“The kids did very well,” said Esky coach Scott Dykema. “Some dropped their times by 1 1/2 minutes. William Wiese had a good race and Nate Lanaville ran his best time. We definitely had a good day. We’re excited.”

Boys

Marquette 16, Houghton 74, Escanaba 99, Stephenson 127, Manistique 131, Marinette 148, Menominee 150, Munising 186, Gwinn NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Carson Vanderschaaf, Marquette, 16:54.5; 2, Brady Ketzenberger, Marquette, 17:42.3; 3, Cullen Papin, Marquette, 17:51.2; 4, Chase Thomsen, Marquette, 17:52.2; 5, Trevor Nolan, Munising, 17:57.3; 6, Adam White, Marquette, 18:12; 7, Kai Chouinard, Marquette, 18:34.8; 8, Colin Vanderschaaf, Marquette, 18:40.5; 9, Birk Seagren, Houghton, 18:51.7; 10, Cyrus Hamlin, Houghton, 19:13.2.

Girls

Marquette 27, Houghton 40, Hancock 102, Escanaba 119, Munising 126, Marinette 137, Stephenson 164, Kingsford 209, Ishpeming and Menominee NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Lola Korpi, Ishpeming, 20:51.2; 2, Tessa Rautiola, Houghton, 21:29.9; 3, Monet Argeropoulos, Marquette, 21:36; 4, Lily Ross, Houghton, 21:45.9; 5, Tessa Bruns, Marquette, 21:47.5; 6, Abby Harma, Marquette, 21:52; 7, Claire Filpus, Houghton, 22:04.2; 8, Ella Fure, Marquette, 22:19.2; 9, Monique Brisson, Munising, 22:29.6; 10, Mya Cartlson, Manistique, 22:40.9.