MIO, MI – For the first time in school history, Bay College’s Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams won their event on the same day. Both teams had multiple runners place in the top ten.

The women’s race did not come without controversy. Bay’s Lily Ross (FR, Houghton, MI) was leading the race coming into the final stretch and pulling away. Coming into the final turn, Ross was confused by the course’s markings, and to make matters worse, spectators had formed around that final turn, making things more confusing. When a group of spectators opened up a lane for her to pass through, Lily took that gap, only to find out that it was a wrong turn. By the time the error was pointed out and she was directed toward the finish line, she could only watch as Kirtland’s Olivia Gust (FR, Gaylord, MI) crossed the finish line ahead of her. Ross would have to settle for a second place finish with a time of 19:53.7.

Alyssa Shirkey (FR, Wakefield, MI) was the next to fnish for Bay with a time of 21:30.9. She finished fifth place. Makenna Hendrickson (FR, Baraga, MI) was the ninth runner to finish with a time of 22:23.7. Natalie Spreitzer (SO, Escanaba, MI) and Kayla Farnes (SO, Escanaba, MI) paced each other to round out the team scoring for the Norse. Spreitzer finished in 24:18.7 and Farnes was just behind her with a time of 24:24.0.

Joelle Jordan (FR, Bark River, MI) set yet another personal best with her 26:59.1 performance. Natalie Brogan (FR, L’Anse, MI) clocked a time of 27:05.5.

For the Norse it was the second time in school history they won an event. The previous victory came just a year ago at the same Firebird Invitational.

“I felt terrible for Lily,” said Head Coach Scott Carhoun. “She was in control of the race and pulling away to win when she was misdirected by a group of spectators near a poorly marked final turn. She was, without question, the fastest woman on the course today.”

With unseasonably warm weather and the course being exposed to the sun quite a bit, the decision was make to cut the men’s race to a 5K length. Bay’s Weston Knauf (FR, Wilson, MI) paced the team with a sixth place finish and a time of 17:21.0. The Norse then had a flurry of harriers cross the line in tenth, eleventh, and twelfth place as Lawrence Caron (FR, Cornell, MI) finished with a time of 17:44.8, Tanner Howes (SO, Gladstone, MI) crossed with a time of 17:48.5, and Ethan Lawrence (SO, Republic, MI) had a time of 18:02.4.

Jeremiah Castro (FR, Port St. Lucie, FL) rounded out the team scoring in twentieth place and put up a time of 20:01.6. Oren Marcoe was the last Norse to cross the line with a time of 21:40.1.

For Bay’s men it was just the second team event they have won in school history as well. To find the previous win, you have to go all the way back to the Bay College Invitational in 2020. It turned out to be a head-to-head matchup in which the Norse edged out Kirtland for a victory in that event.

Bay will be back in action again on Saturday as they travel to Wisconsin to take part in the Gene Davis Invitational in Appleton, WI. The event, hosted by Lawrence University, is scheduled to start at noon.