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MUNISING -- Kingston Berube started his junior cross country season on a positive note in the Larissa Vartti Memorial Invitational here Wednesday.
The Escanaba High School runner earned his first varsity victory by covering the hilly 3.1-mile course in 19 minutes, two seconds on the Valley Spur trails.
He was followed by Menominee's Brad Klan at 19:18, Munising's Blake Lakosky (19:41) and Superior Central freshman Jaxon Klyk (19:54) on this sunny and mild morning.
"I tried to be a little conservative and just wanted to run smart on the hills," Berube said. "This was a confidence builder. I feel good about myself, but I need to work on my form and breathing."
Munising swept both titles with its boys edging Crystal Falls Forest Park 49-55. They were followed by Menominee 92, Stephenson 98 and Superior Central 135.
The Munising girls scored 41 points, followed by Superior Central 79 and Menominee 94.
"I thought we'd do well, but I was a little surprised the boys won," Mustangs' coach Bob Wing said. "This is a tremendous confidence boost. We have more numbers this year and have good depth. Blake is our No. 1 runner and our girls ran well. We have a real good conference. I love our (Skyline Central) conference."
Menominee senior Winley Brandt won in 21:12, followed by Munising freshman Emma Conklin (21:36) and Superior Central freshman Edye Burdett (22:20).
"I'm happy with my time," Brandt said. "It was a lot faster than I had here last year. It's kind of sad because it was my last time running here. I love to run here. There's a lot of uphill but there's also a lot of downhill on this course. I just stayed positive and strided it out."
Conklin tried her best to stay with Brandt.
"This was my first varsity race," she said. "I tried to go out hard and stay with the leaders. She's a good runner. It feels good to win as a team. We worked real hard in the first week of practice."
Burdette said her varsity opener was definitely a learning experience.
"I had to learn how to pace myself on all the hills," she added. "I'm really excited about learning how to run the 5-Ks. It's a tough course. I was exhausted by mile two. I've never run on this course before, but it's really not a bad one to run on."
Superior Central's Ellie Zaupa placed fourth (23:48) and Powers North Central was led by Aline Norkoli in eighth (25:02).
Esky's Wyatt Gallagher took eighth in the boys' race (20:18).
"Kingston has been running strong all summer," Esky coach Scott Dykema said. "Wyatt is also a strong runner. Kingston wanted to get under 19, but he'll get there and (freshman) Dominic Dahl is going to be a good runner. All three of our guys did good. We have enough for a team, but we had some kids out today. Overall, I'm pleased with the way we ran."
Most area teams travel to Marquette for the Dale Phillips Invitational Aug. 28.
Boys
Munising 49, Crystal Falls Forest Park 55, Stephenson 92, Menominee 98, Superior Central 135. Norway, Powers North Central, Escanaba and Gwinn NTS.
Top 10 -- 1, Kingston Berube, Escanaba, 19:02; 2, Brad Klan, Menominee, 19:18; 3, Blake Lakosky, Munising, 19:41; 4, Jaxon Klyk, Superior Central, 19:54; 5, Landon Pivatto, Stephenson, 20:00; 6, Reuben Rasner, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 20:08; 7, Dylan Krause, Munising, 20:18; 8, Wyatt Gallagher, Escanaba, 20:18; 9, Dietrich Rasner, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 20:29; 10, Nolan Dolaskie, Munising, 20:36
Girls
Munising 41, Superior Central 79, Menominee 94. Norway, Powers North Central, Stephenson, Escanaba, Gwinn and Crystal Falls Forest Park NTS.
Top 10 -- Winley Brandt, Menominee, 21:12; 2, Emma Conklin, Munising, 21:36; 3, Edye Burdett, Superior Central, 22:20; 4, Ellie Zaupa, Superior Central, 22:48; 5, Addie Bowerman, Munising, 23:49; 6, Kaylee Baldwin, Norway, 24:46; 7, Kendra Pederson, Superior Central, 24:56; 8, Aline Norkoli, Powers North Central, 25:02; 9, Gabi Putnam, Stephenson, 25:08; 10, Maya Weise, Munising, 25:43.