FLAT ROCK — Make it 3-for-4 for the Gladstone boys’ cross country team.

The Braves won for the third time in four meets this season here Saturday, becoming the first ones to earn top honors in the Bay College High School Invitational with 39 points. They were followed by Rudyard 49, Negaunee 82 and Rapid River 89.

“We’re getting better,” Braves’ coach Gary Whitmer said. “We’re helping each other and different guys are taking turns leading us. They ran hard.”

The Negaunee girls won with 30 points, followed by Stephenson 70 and Rudyard 75.

“The girls had a fabulous performance today,” Miners’ coach Vickie Paupore said. “They ran with confidence. This is the first time we had all the girls here. Every girl medalled, which is something to be proud of . Our boys also had a real good performance.”

Rudyard senior Steven Kirschner took the boys’ race, covering the 3.1-mile course in 17:38.6 on this sunny and cool day. He was followed by Stephenson senior Cannon Kuntze (17:50.5) and Negaunee senior Simon Jaklin in a personal-best 18:14.9.

“I went out kind of slow and easy,” Kirschner said. “I wasn’t familiar with the competition, but I had high hopes coming in here and it worked out pretty well for me. As soon as I got past the mile mark, I settled into a pace. Although, I think the rolling hills kind of got to me.”

Kuntze said he enjoyed the cooler conditions.

“It was nice to have a cooler day,” he added. “The breeze was coming at you at certain points, but it wasn’t too bad. I knew there were going to be some pretty fast guys here, and Steven and I built a pretty good gap. It has been a while since we’ve been at this course. It was good to be here because I really like this course.”

Senior Max Beauchamp was Gladstone’s leader in fourth (18:38.1) with Rudyard junior Eli Folkersma fifth (18:38.1).

Junior Jon Denkins was Rapid River’s pacesetter in eighth (19:20.9). Escanaba sophomore Kingston Berube was 16th (19:50.9) and senior Michael Rexford was Holy Name’s leader in 21st (20:00.6).

Negaunee junior Keira Waterman became girls’ champion in 21:13.9.

“This is a good conditioner for track,” she said. “I thought it would be fun to do cross country. I knew I had to get near the front and attacked the uphills and coasted on the downhills. This is a scenic course. It’s very pretty. This has been a real big learning experience.”

Stephenson senior Faith Cappaert, who made a late surge, was runner-up at a season-best 21:17.

“She passed me at about two miles,” Cappaert said. “I tried to stay with her and we pushed each other. I’ve seen her in track and she’s pretty good in cross country. They have a really good team. I’m really happy with my time and we had our whole team which was really good. It was a beautiful day for running and I really liked the course.”

Esky freshman Avah Akerly placed third at 21:36.5, followed by Menominee junior Winley Brandt (21:43.8) and Negaunee senior Nori Korsman (22:02.1).

“This was a nice course,” Akerly said. “It’s nice to see my dad here and there were more people here to cheer us on. These were ideal conditions for a race. I felt pretty good overall. I’m happy with my time.”

Gladstone was led by senior Lexi Gilbert in eighth (22:26.8). Freshman Julia Poma was Rapid River’s pacesetter in 13th (23:19.5) and Powers North Central’s leader was freshman Maddy Knauf in 18th (23:46.2).

Holy Name coach Derek Douglas won the men’s jayvee/open race in 18:02 and Stephenson coach Kate Kuntze paced the women at 22:17.3.

Many area teams will travel to Iron Mountain for Tuesday’s Kingsford Invitational or the Manistique Invite Wednesday.

Gladstone, however, will wait for Saturday’s Holly Invitational.

“We had two meets this week and a good practice on Thursday,” Whitmer said. “We need to regroup a little bit.”

Boys

Gladstone 39, Rudyard 49, Negaunee 82, Rapid River 89, Stephenson 127, Escanaba Holy Name 155, Manistique 191, Menominee 204. Escanaba, Marinette, Coleman, Wis., Powers North Central NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Steven Kirschner, Rudyard, 17:38.6; 2, Cannon Kuntze, Stephenson, 17:50.5; 3, Simon Jaklin, Negaunee, 18:14.9; 4, Max Beauchamp, Gladstone, 18:38.1; 5, Eli Folkersma, Rudyard, 18:38.8; 6, Grady Nelson, Gladstone, 18:52.7; 7, Teagan Reynolds, Gladstone, 19:02.6; 8, Jon Denkins, Rapid River, 19:20.9; 9, Seth Templeton, Rudyard, 19:22.3; 10, Hunter Schneider, Marinette, 19:31.5.

Girls

Negaunee 30, Stephenson 70, Rudyard 75, Marinette 94, Gladstone 102, Rapid River 116, Coleman, Wis. 179, Escanaba, Menominee, Baraga, Powers North Central, Escanaba Holy Name and Manistique NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Keira Waterman, Negaunee, 21:13.9; 2, Faith Cappaert, Stephenson, 21:17; 3, Avah Akerly, Escanaba, 21:36.5; 4, Winley Brandt, Menominee, 21:43.8; 5, Nori Korsman, Negaunee, 22:02.1; 6, Sadie Rogers, Negaunee, 23:13.9; 7, Melissa Kirschner, Rudyard, 22:22.6; 8, Lexi Gilbert, Gladstone, 22:26.8; 9, Sophia Borths, Marinette, 22:46; 10, Gabriella Putnam, Stephenson, 23:01.6.