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ESCANABA -- With no seniors on their cross country teams the Escanaba Eskymos are hoping to build for the future this season.
The Eskymos, who have two meets under their belts, resume in Thursday's Marinette Border Battle.
They have six girls and five boys on their roster, including sophomore Avah Akerly who placed 15th in Friday's Dale Phillips Invitational at Marquette.
"Avah had injuries last year and we figured out what we needed to do," coach Scott Dykema said. "She really enjoys running. She's a very smart, gifted athlete."
Other hopefuls include juniors Ashley Spreitzer and Miley Meshigaud, sophomore Evey Bevins and freshmen Amelia Chouinard and Emily Spreitzer.
"Amelia is also a very strong, smart runner," Dykema said. "Emily has been battling some injuries. "She ran tough and really pushed herself Friday and now she's paying for it. I'm excited to see what she can do for us."
The boys are led by junior Kingston Berube, who won the season-opener at Munising and placed 22nd in Marquette.
"Some of the kids are used to going into meets well rested," Dykema said. "With this being the first week of school, some of them aren't used to running after school yet. We would like to get some more freshmen. In track and cross country, you tend to see mostly sophomores on up.
"The competition in Marquette was really tough. Shepherd has a very strong team. I like it. I like to have the kids see what they do. It's an eye-opener. If you have fast runners, people just follow along."
Additional hopefuls are juniors Peter Hook and Michael Lemerand, sophomore Wyatt Gallagher and freshman Dominic Dahl.
"The kids are hard workers," Dykema said. "It takes a special kid to do cross country nowadays. I'm really proud of them."
After Thursday's meet at Marinette, the Eskymos travel to Manistique Sept. 9 and Superior Central three days later.
"You never know what to expect down there (Marinette)," Dykema said. "Although, it's nice to see different teams."
The remaining schedule:
Sept. 3 -- Marinette Border Battle; Sept. 9 -- Manistique Invitational; Sept. 12 -- Superior Central Invitational; Sept. 16 -- Stephenson Invitational at Banat; Sept. 23 -- Harger Invitational at Munising; Sept. 26 -- Bay College Invitational at Flat Rock.
Oct. 1 -- Great Eskymo Chase; Oct. 15 -- Great Northern Conference at Menominee; Oct. 24 -- U.P. Division 1 Finals at Houghton.