IRON MOUNTAIN — The Kingsford girls defended their home turf here Tuesday, edging Stephenson 26-29 for the title in their own cross country invitational.

“This was a nice win,” Flivvers’ coach Sara Noascone said as rain moved into the area. “The girls gave it their all. We placed three in the top 10 which is fantastic. This is absolutely a momentum builder. Thank goodness the rain held off during the meet.”

Stephenson’s boys won with 26 points, five ahead of Kingsford on this overcast afternoon at Iron Mountain City Park.

“I told the kids not to worry about time and use this as a hard workout,” Stephenson coach Kate Kuntze said. “Knowing this was their home course, you could tell they had been working on the hills. Our boys ran well. The girls ran well, too.”

Kingsford sophomore Maria Murvich won her second race in a row, covering the 3.1-mile course in 21:14.3. The Flivvers and Murvich also took top honors in Saturday’s Bay College Invite at Flat Rock.

“I struggled a little on the hills, but I knew where they were and definitely used that to my advantage,” she said. “I knew I wasn’t going to get under 21 minutes today, but I tried. This is definitely a confidence builder. Overall, I was able to run strong.”

Menominee junior Winley Brandt was runner-up at 21:58.1.

“I just wanted to finish,” she said. “I didn’t have as much enthusiasm as I wanted. It was a nice day to run, though. I’m trying to work on my starts. I’m trying to go out faster.”

Escanaba freshman Avah Akerly placed third (22:14.1), followed by Stephenson senior Faith Cappaert (22:45.8) and Esky freshman Evey Bevins (24:09.1).

“It was challenging,” Akerly said. “This is probably the hardest course we ran on yet. I just tried to attack the uphills the best I could and was able to use the downhills to my advantage. It was a little muggy, but still pretty nice.”

It was mind over matter for Kingsford junior Cavan Mulligan, who also won for the second straight time at 18:10.9. He was followed by Stephenson senior Canon Kuntze (19:13.1), Esky sophomore Kingston Berube (20:36.6), Kingsford junior Orrin Smith (20:45.7) and Norway sophomore Javan Hauswirth (20:51).

“I started getting the chills due to allergies last night and had a headache before the race,” Mulligan said. “I started thinking it was all mental and just went out and ran my race. I thought I ran a good time for on this course. This is a tough course with a lot of ups and downs. I ran cross country in my freshman year and played football last year, but I like running and decided I wanted to come back to this.”

Many of the runners will be at Banat for Wednesday’s Stephenson Invitational.

Boys

Stephenson 26, Kingsford 31, Escanaba, Menominee and Norway NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Cavan Mulligan, Kingsford, 18:10.9; 2, Canon Kuntze, Stephenson, 19:13.1; 3, Kingston Berube, Escanaba, 20:36.6; 4, Orrin Smith, Kingsford, 20:45.7; 5, Javan Hauswirth, Norway, 20:51; 6, Landon Pivatto, Stephenson, 21:22.1; 7, Henry Zuehls, Menominee, 21:39.5; 8, Luke Olson, Stephenson, 21:53.5; 9, Zander Bowden, Escanaba, 21:57.4; 10, Tyler Phelps, Kingsford, 22:10.1.

Girls

Kingsford 26, Stephenson 29, Escanaba, Powers North Central, Menominee, Norway NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Maria Murvich, Kingsford, 21:14.3; 2, Winley Brandt, Menominee, 21:58.1; 3, Avah Akerly, Escanaba, 22:14.1; 4, Faith Cappaert, Stephenson, 22:45.8; 5, Evey Bevins, Escanaba, 24:09.1; 6, Gabriella Putnam, Stephenson, 24:19.1; 7, Olivia Wescott, Kingsford, 24:39.3; 8, Lauren Adams, Norway, 25:04.5; 9, Maddy Knauf, Powers North Central, 25:08.3; 10, Aalayah Noasconi, Kingsford, 25:30.7