XC Recap: Union City sees success at Mendon Invite; Bronson races at Holly

MENDON, MI. — The Union City Charger XC program continued their impressive start to the 2022 season on Saturday, traveling to the competitive Mendon Invitational for a full day of cross country action.In the women’s side of the competition the upstart Chargers finished with an impressive runner-up finish, taking second place with a score of 49 points. The Chargers were just edged out by the Kalamazoo Homeschool squad who won the event with a team score of 43 points. Lawton finished in third place with 75 points, followed by Concord, Centreville, Hartford, Gobles, and Athens.Union City’s runner-up effort was due in large part to all five runners finishing in the top 20, with one finishing in the top five. Leading the way for Union City was sophomore Skyler Fraley who continued her hot start to the year, taking fourth place with a time of 21 minutes, 44.9 seconds.Rounding out the Charger effort was Alissa Skirka in eleventh place with a time of 23 minutes, 4.8 seconds; Murcie Wallen in thirteenth place with a time of 23 minutes, 13.2 seconds; Elizabeth Arlt in fourteenth place with a time of 23 minutes, 33.5 seconds; and Kyla Burdick in eighteenth place with a time of 23 minutes, 56.6 seconds.Winning the individual race for the women’s division was Mendon’s Presley Allen who took the gold medal with a time of 19 minutes, 38.6 seconds, finishing just ahead of Lawton’s Kendra Koster who finished in second place with a time of 19 minutes, 58.6 seconds.In the men’s competition it was Union City finishing in third place overall with a score of 74 points. The Kalamazoo Homeschool team made it a clean sweep for the tournament, also taking first place honors with a score of 47 points, with Concord finishing in second place with a score of 50 points. Union City was third, followed by Centreville, Hartford, Lawton, Gobles, and Galesburg Augusta.Union City’s third place effort was bolstered by two top 10 finishers and four total medalists. Leading the way for Union City was freshman Ben Gautsche who crossed the line in seventh place overall in a time of 18 minutes, 42.4 seconds. Also making his way inside the top 10 was sophomore Jason Shoop who finished in ninth place overall in a time of 19 minutes, 3.8 seconds.Rounding out the medal earners for Union City was Aidan Taylor who finished in twentieth place in a time of 20 minutes, 13 seconds and Malachi Payne who finished in twenty-fifth place in a time of 20 minutes, 21.7 seconds. The final scored runner for Union City was Cohen Burdick who finished in thirty-sixth place in a time of 21 minutes, 15.1 seconds.Finishing out the Union City effort was Montana Connell in thirty-seventh place; Mason Hawthorne in forty-first place; Maddox Miller in fiftieth place; Max Bigelow in sixty-first place; Cal Bigelow in seventy-fourth place; and Jonas Burdick in seventy-eighth place.Taking first place in the men’s individual race was Reading’s Tyler Bays who finished in first place with a time of 17 minutes, 11.3 seconds, while second place went to Concord’s Adair Artis who crossed the line in a time of 17 minutes, 58 seconds.Union City is back in action on Tuesday when they head to Colon and again on Saturday when they travel to Pittsford for invitational action.Bronson travels to Holly’s Duane Riffin Festival of RacesHOLLY, MI. — The Bronson Viking Cross Country team made the trek to Springfield Oaks Country Club in Holly on Saturday to compete in the 54th annual Holly-Duane Riffin Festival of Races.In the Division Four Men’s race it was Bronson finishing in sixth place overall as a team with a score of 136 points, just behind Big 8 rival Jonesville who finished in fifth place with 134 points. Leslie finished in first place with 93 points, followed by Dansville in second with 103 points and Bath in third place with 106 points.Bronson had one runner finish in the top 10 and another finish in the top 20 to aid in the effort. Pacing the Bronson effort was Ashton Wells who crossed the finish line in a very respectable fifth place in a time of 17 minutes, 42.3 seconds. Earning a top 20 finish was senior Aden Hathaway who finished in sixteenth place overall in a time of 18 minutes, 21 seconds.Rounding out the Bronson effort was Tyler Wilber in thirty-first place; Tanner Norton in forty-fourth place; Hugo Barajas in forty-eighth place; Perry Lake in fifty-second place; and Nicholas Cranson in seventieth place.The individual win went to Theodore Davis of Dansville who took the gold medal with a time of 16 minutes, 38.6 seconds.In the Division 4 Women’s race it was Bronson taking seventh place overall, finishing with a score of 168 points. Leslie was dominant in the victory, winning with a score of 36 points, with Rochester Hills Lutheran finishing a distant second with a score of 91 points.Bronson had two runners finish in the top 20, with one of those two taking a top 10 finish. Leading the way for Bronson was sophomore Ava Hathaway who finished in sixth place overall, crossing the line in a time of 20 minutes, 54.1 seconds. Also earning a medal with her top 20 finish was Ashlynn Harris who finished in fifteenth place overall in a time of 21 minutes, 59.9 seconds.Rounding out the Bronson effort was Aubrey Mace in thirty-fourth place; Abbi Ferry in sixty-fourth place; and Kiera Kiser in seventy-fifth place.In the Division 5,4,and 3 JV Men’s race it was Bronson taking home the title, winning with a score of 47 points.Leading the way for Bronson was Drew Seekman who finished in fifth place overall with a time of 20 minutes, 13.7 seconds. Also finishing in the top 20 was Jason Greenfield in tenth place with a time of 20 minutes, 57.7 seconds; Cesar Padilla in twelfth place in a time of 21 minutes, 3.2 seconds; and Jacob Britten in sixteenth place in a time of 21 minutes, 26.7 seconds. Rounding out the Bronson effort was Phoenix Haviland in twenty-fifth place and Derk Zitting in fiftieth place.The Bronson girls team did not have any competitors in the JV race.The Bronson Cross Country program will look to continue their solid start to the season on Wednesday when they travel to Parchment for the Parchment Classic.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: XC Recap: Union City sees success at Mendon Invite; Bronson races at Holly