Prep roundup: Northern Michigan runners rule the day at Shepherd BLUEJAY Invite; Traverse City St. Francis tennis takes 2nd at Eisenhower quad

Oct. 2—SHEPHERD — Traverse City Central boys cross country coach Bryan Burns said his Trojans had an "exceptional day" at the Shepherd BLUEJAY Invitational on Saturday.

He wasn't kidding. In fact, runners from all across northern Michigan showed up and showed out in the annual meet that sees hundreds of student-athletes from dozens of schools compete.

The Trojan boys won the Elite Varsity 5K with 122 points to runner-up Detroit Catholic Central's 151. Forest Hills Central followed in third with 172 points, while other area teams such as Traverse City West (16th, 388), Traverse City St. Francis (17th, 289) and Petoskey (18th, 397) finished further down the leaderboard.

The TC West Titans did have the area's top finisher in the boys varsity elite as Jonah Hochstetler placed eighth individually with a time of 15:40.3. Central had three runners in the top 15 with Joe Muha taking 11th at 15:47.4, Micah Bauer placing 13th with a 15:55.7, and Zack Truszkowski taking 20th with a 16:12. Petoskey's top runner was Shane Izzard, who finished 17th and clocked in at 16:05.2. Willem DeGood finished just outside the top 20 in 21st with a 16:12.9.

On the girls side in the varsity elite 5K, the Titans nabbed a top-five overall finish with a fourth-place effort and 232 points. The Trojans took seventh with 241 points. St. Francis was 17th with 322, and Petoskey was 19th with 436.

Sophomore Gladiator Betsy Skendzel was the top area runner, taking 10th place with an 18:37.6. West freshman Abby Veit was 15th with an 18:46.7 and was followed by Petoskey's CamBrie Corey in 21st at 18:56 and St. Francis' Sophia Rhein in 22nd at 19:00.1. Central's top finisher was Alexis Ball, who placed 24th with a 19:04.8.

In the other races, the Jays Varsity 5K, it was a clean sweep in the top three on the girls side with Elk Rapids taking the team title with 81 points followed by Benzie Central in second with 95 and Charlevoix in third with 126. Buckley was seventh with 203 points, and Lake Leelanau St. Mary was 11th with 280 points.

The top-two individual slots also went to northern Michigan girls as Aiden Harrand continued her impressive season with another win — her sixth in seven races — clocking in at 18:33.2. Elk Rapids freshman Brynne Schulte took second with an 18:41 followed by Benzie Central's Mylie Kelly in fifth with a 19:08.8, Leland's Ella Knudsen in seventh with a 19:57.3, Charlevoix's Katie Rohrer in eighth with a 20:06.3, and Miriam Murrell from Gaylord St. Mary in ninth with a 20:12.4.

In the boys varsity 5K, the winner should come as no surprise. Benzie's Hunter Jones left the field in the proverbial and literal dust as he won by nearly a minute and 17 seconds. Jones eclipsed the 15-minute mark for the fourth time in six races — all wins — this season. He ran a 14:50.3, which is somehow 18 seconds slower than his personal-record time of 14:32.1 that he ran at the Pete Moss Invite on Aug. 27. That time sits second in the Michigan High School Association history books.

Other area runners finishing in the top 20 included Jones' fellow Huskies Pol Molins (seventh, 16:33.8) and Dade Allen (11th, 17:03.5) as well as Elk Rapids' Max Ward (16th, 17:33.5).

Benzie placed second overall in the boys race with 133 points to Hanover-Horton's dominating 49. Elk Rapids was fourth with 139 points. Charlevoix placed ninth with 226, and Lake Leelanau St. Mary was 14th with 412.

BOYS TENNIS

Gladiators take 2nd at Eisenhower quad

Overall: Ann Arbor Skyline 18; Traverse City St. Francis 14; Eisenhower 12; St. Clair 4.

Traverse City St. Francis: 1S — Tristan Bonanni def. EIS 6-4, 6-0, def. SC by default, lost to AA 6-0, 6-1; 2S — Owen Jackson def. EIS 6-2, 6-1, lost to SC 6-1, 6-1, def. AA 4-6, 7-5, 10-4; 3S — Chris Bobrowski def. EIS 6-3, 6-1, def SC0-6, 6-1, 6-4, def. AA 6-1, 6-0; 4S — Brady Thelen lost to EIS 6-0, 6-0, def. SC 6-2, 6-1, lost to AA 6-1, 6-0; 1D — Charlie King/Derek Berta lost to EIS 6-0, 6-2, def. SC 6-3, 6-3, def. AA 4-6, 6-2, 10-5; 2D — Eli Schmude/Max King def. EIS 6-2, 6-4, def. SC 6-1, 6-4, lost to AA 6-3, 6-1; 3D — Carson Poole/David Ansley lost to EIS 6-2, 6-0, def. SC 6-3, 6-2, lost to AA6-1, 6-1; 4D — Will Sutton/Quinten Musgrave lost to EIS 6-4, 7-5, def. SC 6-4, 6-2, lost to AA 6-4, 6-1.

GIRLS GOLF

Trojans finish 3rd at Katke Classic

Venue: Katke Golf Course at Ferris State University

Overall: Mercy 688; Montague 742; Traverse City Central 748; Grand Rapids Catholic 764; Ludington 781; Whitehall 784; Petoskey 793; Traverse City West 834; Cadillac 844; Big Rapids 885; Chippewa Hills 938.

Top area finishers: 9. McKenzie McManus (TCC) 177; 11. Sydney Rademacher (TCC) 179; 13. Aubrey Williams (PET) 182; 14. Ainslee Hewitt (TCW) 183; T18. Addison Balentine (TCC) 190; 24. Onalee Wallis (CAD) 199; T28. Maya Wilson (TCW) 204; T32. Sara Hasse (PET) 206; T32. Grace Drabik (CAD) 206; 34. Marley Spence (PET) 207; 35. Riley Barr (PET) 210; T36. Jenna Hassell (TCC) 211; T39. Sarah Ream (TCC) 212; T39. Sophia Gardner (PET) 212; T41. Paige LaMott (TCC) 213; 45. Ash Gagnon (TCW) 216; 46. Madalie Dickerson (CAD) 220; T49. Ellery Schaefer (CAD) 232; T49. Brynn Turnquist (TCW) 232.

CROSS COUNTRY

Kingsley girls win Cecil Burch Invite

Overall girls: Kingsley 47; Reed City 81; Lake City 89; Mason County Eastern 94; McBain 105; Kalkaska 106; Pine River 155.

Top area girls: 3. Mary Webb (KNG) 22:23.4; 4. Megan Gottschall (LC) 22:43.4; 7. Rylee Cohoon (LC) 23:24; 8. Grace Hillier (KNG) 23:24.1; 9. Chelsi Eisenga (MCB)23:26.5; 10. Sayla Bender (KNG) 23:27.1.

Overall boys: Reed City 44; Mason County Eastern 66; Kalkaska 70; Kingsley 97; Lake City 110; McBain 130; Pine River 167.

Top area boys: 4. Gavin Guggemos (KAL) 17:55.4; 5. Claydon Ingleright (MCB) 17:57.6; 7. Paxton Hall (LC) 18:09; 8. Camden Moore (KAL) 18:13.9; 10. Enzo Gagliardi Ramalho (LC) 18:28.4.

8-PLAYER FOOTBALL

Posen 37

Onekama 12

Onekama: No stats reported.

UP NEXT: The Portagers (2-4) head to Gaylord St. Mary on Friday.

VOLLEYBALL

St. Francis goes 4-1 at Mt. Pleasant

St. Francis def. Western Michigan Christian 25-18, 25-18, 25-9; def. Royal Oak Shrine 25-19, 25-15, 25-22; def. Oscoda 20-25, 25-19, 15-12; Plymouth Christian def. TCSF 26-28, 25-23, 10-15.

St. Francis: Reese Jones 8 aces, 71 assists, 17 digs; Quinn Yenshaw 2 aces, 27 digs, 28 kills; Landry Fouch 5 aces, 7 digs, 10 kills; Claire Hurley 26 kills, 5 blocks; Avery Nance 10 aces, 14 assists, 46 digs; Garnett Mullet 11 aces, 53 digs, 50 kills; Tess Konas 53 assists; Alica Revett 8 kills, 1 block.

Leland finishes 4-1 at Chippewa Hills

Leland def. Evart 25-9,25-20,15-11; def. Shepherd 25-22, 25-22, 15-9; def. Shepherd 25-17, 25-15, def. Alma 25-19, 25-17; Gladwin def. Lakers 15-25, 19-25.

Leland: Alexis Luce 1 kill, 11 aces, 98 assists, 18 digs, 2 assists; Fiona Moord 37 kills, 13 aces, 4 digs, 3 blocks, 7 assists; Flora Mitchell 7 kills, 13 aces, 4 digs, 3 blocks, 2 assists; Kally Sluiter 1 kill, 1 assist, 3 digs; Kelsey Allen 31 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks, 1 assist; Maeve Sweeney 24 kills, 10 aces, 3 assists, 25 digs; Mallory Lowe 8 digs; Olive Ryder 8 assist, 29 digs; Shelby Plamondon 17 kills, 2 aces, 1 assist, 8 digs, 4 assists.

UP NEXT: The Comets travel to Frankfort on Tuesday.

Eagles do undefeated at Brethren

Lake Leelanau St. Mary def. Traverse City Bulldogs 25-11, 25-15; def. Bear Lake 25-14, 25-12; def. Mason County Central 25-17, 25-23; def. Traverse City Central JV 25-12, 25-12; def. Mason County Central 25-14, 25-22.

Lake Leelanau St. Mary: Leah Fleis 41 kills, 15 digs, 6 aces, 2 blocks; Cathryn Mikowski 10 kills, 22 digs, 18 aces, 5 blocks; Kyla Barnowski 15 kills, 15 digs, 7 aces; Sarah Bunek 11 kills, 4 digs; Maggie Ursu 14 digs, 12 aces; Grace Collins 4 kills, 2 digs.

UP NEXT: The Eagles (18-10-2) play Suttons Bay at Northport on Thursday.

SWIMMING & DIVING

TC Tritons Hudsonville Invite

The Traverse City Tritons swim and dive team participated at the Hudsonville Invite.

Standout performances: 200 medley relay — Ella Cabbage, Kira Adams, Cam Crosby, and Lila Glenn (5th, 2:23.58); 200 individual medley — Kira Adams (3rd, 2:23.58); 50 freestyle — Ella Cabbage (7th, 27.03); 100 butterfly — Kayla Macnowski (4th, 1:10.31); 100 freestyle — Ella Cabbage (6th, 58.58); 500 Freestyle — Lila Glenn (5th, 5:46.22); 200 Freestyle Relay — Kira Adams, Cam Crosby, Ella Cabbage, Lila Glen (6th, 1:49.75); 100 Breaststroke — Kira Adams (3rd, 1:14.07); 400 freestyle relay — Kayla Macnowski, Lauren Johnson, Hannah Lantz, and Paige Schillinger (8th, 4:14.13)

UP NEXT: The Tritons are at the Girls MISCA meet at Calvin University Oct. 8.

BOYS SOCCER

Petoskey 0

Elk Rapids 0

Elk Rapids: Koa West 7 saves.

UP NEXT: The Elks (11-7-1, 6-1) travel to Boyne City Monday. The Northmen (11-6, 5-2) head to Cadillac on Tuesday.

Manistee 6

Cadillac 0

No stats reported.

UP NEXT: The Chippewas (12-3, 7-1) hit the road to Muskegon Oakridge on Monday. The Vikings host Petoskey Tuesday.

Leland 3

Charlevoix 0

No stats reported.

UP NEXT: The Comets (10-3-1,6-1) head out to Benzie Central on Monday. The Rayders host Kalkaska on Monday.