Bay finishes middle of the pack at home invite
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FLAT ROCK -- It was a middle-of-the-pack finish for the Bay College cross country teams here Friday as the women placed third and the men took fourth in Michigan Community College Athletic Association's North Conference Championships.
Muskegon Community College took both titles with the women taking the top four places and scoring 18 points. They were followed by North Central Michigan College 44 and Bay 82.
The Jayhawks placed five in the top seven and topped the men's standings with 23 points. North Central was runner-up at 69 and Kirtland Community College squeezed past the Norse 80-81 for third place.
"I'm very happy with our performance," Norse coach Scott Carhoun said. "North Central has a group of runners that's close which helps their team score. Both of our teams are exactly where I think they should be right now. This was just the second 8-K for the guys and we had two girls who just missed out on the podium."
Montcalm Community College freshman Jeryn Frisbie won the five-mile men's race in 27 minutes, 31.9 seconds on this sunny and seasonably-cool afternoon. He was followed by Muskegon freshmen Hayden Fox at 28:06.6 and Issac Romero (28:47.7).
"Our women looked strong," Muskegon coach Nick Marcinkowski said. "We're building up for regionals. The girls have beaten some (NCAA) Division 3 schools. The men also did pretty good. This meet gives us another measuring point. We have two weeks to go for our home meet."
Noah Chouinard, who hails from Alma, Mich., led the Bay men in eighth place (29:17.2).
"I was hoping to get under 29," he said. "I was pretty happy with my race, but I kind of died at the end. I'm still learning how to run an 8-K. I didn't have much of a strategy. I just tried to stick with some people."
He was followed by North Central sophomore and Engadine graduate Dakota Taylor at 29:17.2.
"It was a good race," Taylor said. "I'm still a little leery at the start of an 8-K. This was my fourth time running here. It feels good to reach the podium. We lost our assistant coach Andy Place to an aneurysm which was a big loss to our program."
Negaunee grad and Norse freshman Simon Jaklin placed 10th in 29:20.6.
"I was only three seconds off Noah's time," he said. "I tried to go out faster and maintain that pace and get into a higher pack. In high school, we raced at Flat Rock probably every year. I'm very familiar with the course."
Norse freshman and Superior Central grad Cody Moore took 19th (32:49.5) followed by former Cougars' harriers Cole Ozoga 21st (34:08.8) and Carter Korpi 23rd (34:28.6), Manistique grad Ben Gilroy 27th (35:06) and Blane LaCosse 30th (36:04.7).
"I improved my time but not as much as I wanted to," Korpi said. "My season goal is to get under 31, so I got some work to do. I've been cramping up. I need to find a way to get rid of those and work on endurance. I want to use this season to build for next season."
In the women's 5-K (3.1-mile race), Muskegon sophomore Valerie Pollock took the league title at 19:39.6, followed by fellow sophomore Adrienne Fluette (19:48.1) and freshmen Alyssa Spicer (20:36.4) and Joelle Patten (20:55.6).
Freshman and Gladstone grad Payton Takkunen was Bay's leader in 13th in a personal-best 21:58.6, just ahead of freshman teammate Jovie Williams (22:06.8).
"I was really happy with that," Takkunen said. "I tried to pace myself with runners in front of me and it worked. I thought it was perfect weather. This is a lot more competitive than high school cross country. You have to pace yourself with other people. Third place (as a team), that's awesome. This is a confidence builder for sure."
Bay sophomore Olivia Westcott placed 16th at personal-best 22:20.4. Fellow sophomore Grace VanWormer took 18th (22:34.7) and freshman Kaiya Davis was 21st (23:24.7).
"I think this is a great learning experience," Davis said. "I'm happy with the way I ran. I tried to stay with my teammates. That always encourages me. I also play volleyball. This is definitely different from high school."
Norse freshman Alexia Maloney finished 24th (24:29.9) and sophomore Joelle Jordan was 29th (27:12.7).
"I'm super happy about Olivia running a PR," Carhoun said. "When Payton ran this course in high school, she ran a 24:14. The way she ran today was very encouraging."
The Norse are idle until Oct. 17 when they travel to Muskegon.
Men
Muskegon C.C. 23, North Central Michigan 68, Kirtland C.C. 80, Bay College 81, Montcalm C.C. 125, Alpena C.C. 130.
Top 12 -- 1, Jeryn Frisbie, Montcalm C.C., 27:31.9; 2, Hayden Fox, Muskegon C.C., 28:06.6; 3, Issac Romero, Muskegon C.C., 28:47.7; 4, Anthony Cole, Kirtland C.C., 28:55.2; 5, Lukas Rennels, Muskegon C.C., 29:03.1; 6, Trent Galdean, Muskegon C.C., 29:04.5; 7, Ryder Merkins, 29:09.6; 8, Noah Chouinard, Bay College, 29:17.2; 9, Dakota Taylor, North Central Michigan, 29:18.8; 10, Simon Jaklin, Bay College, 29:20.6; 11, Nicholas Trader, Kirtland C.C., 29:52.2; 12, Kincaide Holt, North Central Michigan, 29:58.9.
Women
Muskegon C.C. 18, North Central Michigan 44, Bay College 82, Kirtland C.C. 103, Montcalm C.C. 121.
Top 12 -- 1, Valerie Pollock, Muskegon C.C., 19:39.6; 2, Adrienne Fluette, Muskegon C.C., 19:48.1; 3, Alyssa Spicer, Muskegon C.C., 20:36.4; 4, Joelle Patten, Muskegon C.C., 20:55.6; 5, Esther Hornibrook, North Central Michigan, 20:59.9; 6, Sahara Davis, North Central Michigan, 21:22.6; 7, Olivia Gust, Kirtland C.C., 21:28; 8, Cammie Erickson, Muskegon C.C., 21:38.9; 9, Nevaeh Battice, Muskegon C.C., 21:46.4; 10, Lindsey Masterson, North Central Michigan, 21:51; 11, Teryn Firack, North Central Michigan, 21:54.9; 12, Makayla Watkins, 21:56.6.