MANISTIQUE — After getting their first taste of competition of track and field competition, the Manistique girls are ready to get on with the rest of their season.

The Emeralds, who placed third in Friday’s LSSU Yooper Large School Invitational in Sault Ste. Marie, are idle until April 21 when they host their annual Kiwanis Invitational.

“We had a great day up there,” said coach Amy Nixon. “About a third of our girls are first-year athletes. We had a chance to see what they could do. I think that was a good first meet. We’re looking forward to getting some outdoor practices in.”

The Emeralds have 19 on their roster, including five seniors.

They include Kelsey Muth and Annabelle Burnham in the sprints, Emily Jung (hurdles and sprints) and Clara Gilroy and Lake Superior State recruit Sarah McDaniel (distances).

Junior leaders are Emma Jones (sprints), Linnea Way (high jump and hurdles) and Danielle Lund (weight events), who placed third in shot put with a personal-best throw of 35 feet, four inches at LSSU.

“Danielle had a nice throw in shot,” said Nixon. “She also did a good job in the 200 and looked strong in our 1600 relay. We definitely have some nice leaders. It was kind of cool for Sarah to compete at what will be her home in a few months. I think she’s really excited.”

Sophomore hopefuls are Leah Goudreau, Clara Cunningham and Calista Watchorn (distances), Ava Hayes (sprints), Grace Miller (hurdles) and JoLynn Zellar (weight events).

Freshmen include cousins Maya and Kyra Carlson (distances), Brianna Akers (high jump, hurdles and sprints), Helene Jung (high jump and hurdles) and Gwen Brewster (weight events).

“Last season we didn’t have any seniors,” said Nixon. “We were able to add six athletes to our team and some of the younger girls were contributing right away. Our five freshmen have a great attitude and work very hard. I think they’ll be strong contributors to the team.

Beside the Kiwanis Invitational, the Emeralds are hosting another invite May 6 and Division 2 regional May 19.

Nixon points to Negaunee as the favorite in the Mid-Peninsula Conference and defending U.P. champion Bark River-Harris as the team to beat in D-2.

“Negaunee is always tough,” she said. “They seem to outnumber everybody. Bark River-Harris should be strong. We’ll do what we can to compete with them and you can never count out St. Ignace. Their school has a lot of good athletes. With today’s technology, it kind of changes the game, knowing what other teams are capable of doing before we see them.”

The remaining schedule:

April 21 — Kiwanis Invitational; April 27 — St. Ignace Invitational; April 29 — Web Morrison Invitational at Pickford.

May 4 — Rapid River Invitational; May 6 — Emerald Invitational; May 12 — Munising Invitational; May 19 — Division 2 regional; May 22 — M-PC meet at Negaunee; May 25 — at Munising.

June 3 — U.P. Finals at Kingsford.