Curtosey Photo Bob Wing

MUNISING — Avah Ackerley made quite a first impression here Tuesday, earning runner-up honors in the Larissa Vartti Memorial Invitational cross country meet.

The Escanaba freshman covered the hilly 3.1-mile course in 23:08 on this cloudy and cool day at the Valley Spur Ski Trails.

“I’m happy with my time,” she said. “This was my first high school meet. I didn’t know what to expect. I surprised myself with my placement. I just wanted to do my best.”

Cheboygan squeezed past Gladstone 79-81 for the title and Stephenson placed third with 93 points.

The Gladstone boys ran away with the title, placing four among the top nine and scoring 33 points. They were followed by Cheboygan 81 and Stephenson 108.

“The boys did well,” Gladstone coach Gary Whitmer said. “Their experience helped. Three years ago they were freshmen and now they’re seniors. The girls’ performance was a pleasant surprise. We weren’t sure we’d have five and we did.”

Menominee junior Winley Brandt shaved 15 seconds off last year’s time and was crowned girls’ champion at 22:29.

“I’m very, very happy,” she said. “I put a lot of work in this summer. I covered my watch with a piece of tape and I think it helped. When I look at my watch, I get too anxious. I attacked the big hill and was able to build a bigger lead. I kept pushing myself.”

Stephenson senior Faith Cappaert placed third in 23:20.

“This wasn’t my best race,” she said. “I was slower than last year. The hill made it challenging. This is definitely a hard course. I was pleased with my race overall, but was hard. It was great to get back into cross country, though.”

Senior Peyton Takkunen was Gladstone’s pacesetter in seventh (24:01) and Lexi Gilbert took 10th (24:58).

Stephenson’s Cannon Kuntze started his senior season by winning in 18:47 with Gladstone senior Grady Nelson runner-up at 19:18.

“Going into the first meet of the season, you don’t know what you’re up against,” Kuntze said. “I built a lead and was able to widen the gap on the hill. It’s a great feeling to open my senior season this way. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Nelson was followed by teammate Teagan Reynolds in 19:23.

“It felt pretty good to get runner-up,” Nelson said. “We were jogging most of the course. I didn’t get much sleep last night and was a little nervous about how I was going to do. I had a glimpse of him (Kuntze) after the downhill, then after two miles he disappeared.”

Gladstone’s Max Beauchamp placed fifth (19:44) and Chuck Cameron took ninth (20:09).

Sophomore Kavin Jackson led Manistique in 11th (20:28) and Kingston Berube was Esky’s leader in 13th (20:45).

Boys

Gladstone 33, Cheboygan 81, Stephenson 108, Munising 110, Manistique and Crystal Falls Forest Park 132, Escanaba 161, Norway 192, Gwinn 197, Powers North Central 226, Menominee 227.

Top 10 — 1, Cannon Kuntze, Stephenson, 18:47; 2, Grady Nelson, Gladstone, 19:18; 3, Teagan Reynolds, Gladstone, 19:23; 4, Carson Kiefer, Cheboygan, 19:31; 5, Max Beauchamp, Gladstone, 19:44; 6, Andrew Kiefer, Cheboygan, 19:45; 7, William Hoffman, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 19:49; 8, Javan Hauswirth, Norway, 19:54; 9, Chuck Cameron, Gladstone, 20:09; 10, Blake Lakosky, Munising, 20:19.

Girls

Cheboygan 79, Gladstone 81, Stephenson 93, Powers North Central 113, Norway, Manistique and Escanaba 125, Menominee 140, Crystal Falls Forest Park 155, Munising 182.

Top 10 — 1, Winley Brandt, Menominee, 22:29; 2, Avah Ackerly, Escanaba, 23:08; 3, Faith Cappaert, Stephenson, 23:20; 4, Cloee Rupp, Cheboygan, 23:35; 5, Belle Tarter, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 23:39; 6, Bobbi Putnam, Stephenson, 23:59; 7, Peyton Takkunen, Gladstone, 24:01; 8, Olivia Cotey, Munising, 24:34; 9, Addie Bowerman, Munising, 24:35; 10, Lexi Gilbert, Gladstone, 24:58.