NORWAY — A strong finish made a difference for Stephenson senior Canon Kuntze as he earned top honors in the Norway Invitational cross country meet here Monday.

Kuntze covered the 3.1-mile course in a personal-best 17:27.3, followed by Kingsford junior Cavan Mulligan (17:33.2) and Florence-Niagara junior Zane Phillips (18:19.3) on this sunny and seasonably cool afternoon.

“Being familiar with the course helps,” Kuntze said. “You know what to expect. I knew Cavan was going to be my main competition and he absolutely pushed me. I think we push each other pretty well.”

Florence-Niagara took the team title with 39 points, followed by Crystal Falls Forest Park 62 and Stephenson 75.

Ewen-Trout Creek squeezed past Stephenson 38-39 for the girls’ championship and Kingsford placed third with 43 points.

“This is a nice win for our team,” E-TC coach Brad Besonen said. “We’ve been chasing L’Anse all year and Stephenson has a strong team. They’ve come a long way.”

Rock Mid Peninsula freshman Ashdeyn Gerow placed fourth among the boys at 18:25.9 and classmate Eli Stiglitz took ninth (19:17.8).

Sophomore Kavin Jackson was Manistique’s pacesetter in 11th (19:39.6) and Holy Name senior Michael Rexford took 14th (19:50).

Kingsford sophomore Maria Murvich took the girls’ race in 20:29.5 and E-TC sophomore Bree Besonen was runner-up at a personal-best 20:50.2.

“It was a good race,” Murvich said. “The other girls definitely pushed me. One of the girls (Besonen) came up on me at mile two. I just picked up the pace and tried not to think of it too much. We had perfect conditions for this race. The course is a little tricky, but I shaved off a little more time. This is definitely a boost of confidence. I’m excited for the GNC meet.”

Besonen was followed by Menominee senior Winley Brandt in a personal-best 20:54.4.

“It was a fast meet today,” Bree Besonen said. “It was nice to win this one. This is a big boost for myself and the team. L’Anse has beaten us all year. They have some good runners.”

Brandt was followed by Stephenson senior Faith Cappaert (20:56.1) and E-TC senior Emma Besonen (22:04.6).

“I’m happy with my time,” Brandt said. “Last Thursday I had an off day at Escanaba and didn’t do too well here last year. That definitely motivated me. I wanted to stride it out. It feels to me that my time will continue to come down. It’s a sense of relief to finally get under 21. The weather was beautiful today.”

Big Bay de Noc freshman Emma LaCosse led area runners in sixth (22:13.4).

“My thigh muscles were tight and it slowed me down a bit,” she said. “It didn’t put anything on it yet, but I will. Overall, I’m happy with my race. I’m looking forward to the (Skyline Central) conference meet.”

Mid Pen junior Aesara Lupinski took 14th (23:45.8) and Powers North Central’s Maddy Knauf was 15th (23:47).

The Skyline Central meet is taking place today at 3 p.m. at Superior Central with the Great Northern Conference set for Thursday at 4 p.m. in Marquette.

E-TC goes to Ironwood for Thursday’s Copper Mountain Conference.

“They run our conference meet at the Gogebic Country Club,” Bree Besonen said. “The course is a little deceptive. It’s not as easy as it looks.”

Boys

Florence-Niagara, Wis. 39, Crystal Falls Forest Park 62, Stephenson 75, Kingsford 81, Manistique 96, Escanaba Holy Name 126. Rock Mid Peninsula, Escanaba Holy Name, Norway, Carney-Nadeau, Ewen-Trout Creek and Menominee NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Canon Kuntze, Stephenson, 17:27.3; 2, Cavan Mulligan, Kingsford, 17:33.2; 3, Zane Phillips, Florence-Niagara, 18:19.3; 4, Ashdeyn Gerow, Rock Mid Peninsula, 18:25.9; 5, Even Parker, Florence-Niagara, 18:42.9; 6, William Hoffman, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 18:53.7; 7, Hayden Smith, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 19:10.8; 8, Christian Anderson, Florence-Niagara, 19:15.3; 9, 9, Eli Stiglitz, Rock Mid Peninsula, 19:17.8; 10, Orrin Smith, Kingsford, 19:32.4

Girls

Ewen-Trout Creek 38, Stephenson 39, Kingsford 43. Menominee, Big Bay de Noc, Florence-Niagara, Wis., Norway, Crystal Falls Forest Park, Rock Mid Peninsula, Powers North Central, Baraga, Escanaba Holy Name and Manistique NTS.

Top 10 — 1, Maria Murvich, Kingsford, 20:29.5; 2, Bree Besonen, Ewen-Trout Creek, 20:50.2; 3, Winley Brandt, Menominee, 20:54.4; 4, Faith Cappaert, Stephenson, 20:56.1; 5, Emma Besonen, Ewen-Trout Creek, 22:04.6; 6, Evonna LaCosse, Big Bay de Noc, 22:13.4; 7, Gabriella Putnam, Stephenson, 22:28.9; 8, Ina Holt, Florence-Niagara, 22:33.2; 9, Olivia Wescott, Kingsford, 22:45.1; 10, Rylie Cole, Stephenson, 23:01.9.