ESCANABA----The Escanaba Eskymos hosted their only cross-country meet of the season on Saturday, and the boys took full advantage of the Ludington Park surroundings. The Eskymos had six of the top ten finishers to easily win the boys' Division One meet with 28 points. Menominee was a distant second with 70 points.
Escanaba's Eric Cousineau finished second overall in 17 minutes, 9 seconds...just five seconds behind Ironwood's Jared Joki.
Cousineau had problems at the top of the hill near the end of the race, stopping for a moment before rebounding to take second spot.
"I couldn't breathe," Cousineau said. "I wasn't hurt, I just couldn't breathe. I think I started out (at the beginning of the race) too fast."
Cousineau actually briefly fell being Menominee's Davey Luplow, but he regained his strength and passed Luplow down the stretch.
Luplow settled for third place.
Menominee's Gunthe DeDamos took fourth place, and then, the next five spots were all Eskymos. Joey Wolfe was fifth in 17:45, then it was Gabe Ostrenga (17:55), Jordan Ogren (18:30), Tyler Hardwick (18:46), and John Hook (18:46).
Gladstone finished fifth out of seven teams with 121 points. The top Braves finishers were Andrew Olesak (16th in 20:04), and Connor Powell (17th, in 20:17).
Forty-two kids from seven schools competed in that race.
IN THE GIRLS RACE---The Gladstone Braves and Menominee Maroons tied for first with 52 points, but the Maroons won the tiebreaker by having the fastest "sixth runner".
Menominee's Kameron Burmeister won the race in 19:23, with Ironwood's Jessica Gering a distant second in 20:55.
Gladstone freshman Leigha Woelffer was fourth in 21:17, while Braves teammates Sam Sailor (22:17) and Alyssa Polley (22:22) were eighth and ninth, respectively.
Escanaba finished just behind the Braves and Maroons, in third place with 56 points. Aimee Giese was third overall in 21:05, while Callie Heller finished seventh (22:14).
Thirty-two girls from seven schools competed in Saturday's race.
SMALL SCHOOL BOYS---The Munising Mustangs edged the North Central Jets to win the Small Schools race. The Mustangs had three top-ten finishers and won the meet with 60 points. The Jets were second with 66, and Stephenson was third with 72.
Munising's Brett Hannah was the winner, finishing in 17 minutes, 17 seconds. Stephenson's Connor Cappaert was second (17:21).
North Central's Bryce Hollie was fifth (18:19), and Jets freshman Seth Polfus was sixth (18:37).
Big Bay deNoc's Lucas Sundling was tenth overall, finishing in 19:58.
A total of 42 kids from eight schools participated in the meet.
SMALL SCHOOL GIRLS---The Munising Mustangs captured girls the team trophy by winning the meet with 31 points. Rogers City was second with 49.
Munising's Marissa Immel won the race in 21:13, while Rudyard's Kaylee Hodesma was second in 21:22. Munising's Anna Baij took third spot (21:29).
A total of 32 girls from seven schools competed in the race.
Escanaba's Eric Cousineau (left) and Callie Heller (right) were both medalists.
Cousineau had problems at the top of the hill near the end of the race, stopping for a moment before rebounding to take second spot.
"I couldn't breathe," Cousineau said. "I wasn't hurt, I just couldn't breathe. I think I started out (at the beginning of the race) too fast."
Cousineau actually briefly fell being Menominee's Davey Luplow, but he regained his strength and passed Luplow down the stretch.
Luplow settled for third place.
Menominee's Gunthe DeDamos took fourth place, and then, the next five spots were all Eskymos. Joey Wolfe was fifth in 17:45, then it was Gabe Ostrenga (17:55), Jordan Ogren (18:30), Tyler Hardwick (18:46), and John Hook (18:46).
Gladstone finished fifth out of seven teams with 121 points. The top Braves finishers were Andrew Olesak (16th in 20:04), and Connor Powell (17th, in 20:17).
Forty-two kids from seven schools competed in that race.
IN THE GIRLS RACE---The Gladstone Braves and Menominee Maroons tied for first with 52 points, but the Maroons won the tiebreaker by having the fastest "sixth runner".
Escanaba's Aimee Giese was third overall.
Gladstone freshman Leigha Woelffer was fourth in 21:17, while Braves teammates Sam Sailor (22:17) and Alyssa Polley (22:22) were eighth and ninth, respectively.
Escanaba finished just behind the Braves and Maroons, in third place with 56 points. Aimee Giese was third overall in 21:05, while Callie Heller finished seventh (22:14).
Thirty-two girls from seven schools competed in Saturday's race.
SMALL SCHOOL BOYS---The Munising Mustangs edged the North Central Jets to win the Small Schools race. The Mustangs had three top-ten finishers and won the meet with 60 points. The Jets were second with 66, and Stephenson was third with 72.
North Central's Bryce Hollie was fifth.
North Central's Bryce Hollie was fifth (18:19), and Jets freshman Seth Polfus was sixth (18:37).
Big Bay deNoc's Lucas Sundling was tenth overall, finishing in 19:58.
A total of 42 kids from eight schools participated in the meet.
SMALL SCHOOL GIRLS---The Munising Mustangs captured girls the team trophy by winning the meet with 31 points. Rogers City was second with 49.
Munising's Marissa Immel won the race in 21:13, while Rudyard's Kaylee Hodesma was second in 21:22. Munising's Anna Baij took third spot (21:29).
A total of 32 girls from seven schools competed in the race.
The Munising Mustangs girls pose with their trophy after winning the Golden K meet on Saturday.
