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NEGAUNEE -- The Gladstone boys earned runner-up honors in the Negaunee Invitational cross country meet here Tuesday, scoring 45 points.
Houghton won with 29, followed by the Braves, who edged the host Miners by seven points. Ishpeming Westwood placed fourth at 94.
The Negaunee girls edged Houghton 25-32 for the title.
Houghton junior Brandon Van Karsen was the top individual finisher among the boys, covering the 3.1-mile course in 18 minutes, 9.7 seconds. He was followed by Ishpeming senior Kemper Gearhart at 18:28 and West Iron County sophomore Eduel Spencer (18:35.8), step ahead of Houghton freshman Tyler Rule.
"The times are really good," Houghton coach Traci Welch said. "There's a lot of competition with a deep team. I'm really happy with how they ran. Having a deep team takes some of the pressure off the lead runners. I was a little worried coming into the season because we graduated a lot of seniors and didn't have very many freshmen last year. I'm really happy with how the girls did, too. Negaunee is really coming on."
Gladstone senior Chuck Cameron placed sixth at 19:22.6. Sophomore teammates Charlie Blaire took seventh (19:29.2) and Nicholas Moulds ninth (19:44.3). He was followed by senior Cristian Hayen in 11th (20:18.5) on this seasonably-warm, windy and cloudy afternoon.
Newberry senior Abby Taylor copped the girls' race at 20:06.8. Negaunee freshman Julia Plaxco was runner-up in 20:25.7 and Newberry sophomore Molly McNamara placed third (20:31.2).
"It felt like I was pretty tired," Taylor said. "We've had a lot of meets lately. I ran my first mile in six minutes flat. I like these conditions. It was a little bit warm, but comfortable for running."
Plaxco ran a PR (personal record) for the second straight time, shaving second seven seconds off her previous best in Thursday's Ishpeming Invite.
"The Newberry girls are pretty good," she said. "I'm pretty happy with my time. I figured if I ran a PR at Al Quaal (Recreation Area), I could probably do it over here. It was pretty exciting to win as a team. A lot of our girls are seniors. It was really nice for them to win their home meet. Our program is growing. We're getting more people."
Houghton's leader was junior Holly Cooke, who placed fourth (20:57.7)
Gladstone resumes in Saturday's Sault Ste. Marie Elks Invitational.
Boys
Houghton 29, Gladstone 45, Negaunee 52, Ishpeming Westwood 97. Ishpeming, West Iron County, Hancock and Gwinn NTS.
Top 10 -- 1, Brandon Van Karsen, Houghton, 18:09.7; 2, Kemper Gearhart, Ishpeming, 18:28; 3, Eduel Spencer, West Iron County, 18:35.8; 4, Tyler Rule, Houghton, 18:35.8; 5, Cole Ceane, Houghton, 18:43.2; 6, Chuck Cameron, Gladstone, 19:22.6; 7, Charlie Blair, Gladstone, 19:29.2; 8, Tyler Rautiola, Negaunee, 19:32.4; 9, Nicholas Moulds, Gladstone, 19:44.3; 10, Tristan Wolfe, Houghton, 19:45.7.
Girls
Negaunee 25, Houghton 32. Newberry, Ishpeming, Calumet, Hancock, Republic-Michigamme, West Iron County, Gwinn and Gladstone NTS.
Top 10 -- 1, Abby Taylor, Newberry, 20:06.8; 2, Julia Plaxco, Negaunee, 20:25.7; 3, Molly McNamara, Newberry, 20:31.2; 4, Holly Cooke, Houghton, 20:57.7; 5, Keira Waterman, Negaunee, 21:27.9; 6, Emma Jukuri, Houghton, 21:35.1; 7, Norah Woodruff, Houghton, 22:02.7; 8, Sophie Mahoski, Ishpeming, 22:41.7; 9, Bethany McParlan, Calumet, 22:58.7; 10, Brynn Wieciech, Negaunee, 23:16.7.