The Munising Mustangs hosted the annual El Harger cross country meet at Pictured Rocks Golf Club on Tuesday, September 24. A record 23 teams attended the event not only to race, but also to preview the course before the UP Finals in two weeks. Under perfect running conditions, the Mustangs fielded a scoring boys team, but only two individuals on the girls side. The boys had mixed results with their eighth place team finish. Trevor Nolan ran a gritty race, with bib in hand, on his way to a third place finish out of 124 runners in a time of 17 minutes 30.9 seconds. Nolan Dolaskie claimed the second position on the team with a 55th place finish in 20:25.7. He was followed by Blake Lakosky (58th, 20:38.2). The usual number one runner for the team, Danny Goss, suffered a cramp in his hip which hampered his performance. He placed 60th in 20:46.5. Dylan Adkinson was next in 75th place in 21:53.7, and Nate Petersen rounded out the six-man team in 87th place in 22:31.4. For the girls, Kate Mattson finished in 39th place covering the 3.1 mile course in 24:33.0, and Elizabeth Wing was 81st with a time of 20:00.9.
The middle school athletes again showed their prowess as they have done all season. Evan Kelto (7th, 14:53.0) and Trey Defrancesco (43rd, 20:54.3) were the boys finishers. The girls again proved to be formidable competition for the visitors. Emma Concklin dialed it up by finishing in fourth place with a time of 15:53.8. Right behind Emma was Karter Goings in fifth place in 16:31.2. Maddie Kulppi was next (8th, 17:19.2), Lennon Livermore (10th, 18:23.6), Kahlan Ramsey (12th, 18:24.3), Payton Brey (13th, 18:54.4), Ava Prunick (21st, 20:00.5), Peyton Dyer (22nd, 20:22.1), Miika Michelson (24th, 20:57.5), and Amber Defrancesco (43rd, 28:36.0) rounded out the team. In the team competition, they dominated the four team field with 21 points over second place Gladstone who had 54.
On Saturday, the teams traveled to the Soo to compete in the Elks Invitational. This time the girls fielded a scoring team, and the boys were short-handed. The unseasonably warm weather continued as the temperature reached into the low 80’s during the races. While it affected some, others brushed it aside and ran well. For the lady Mustangs, Addie Bowerman ran her best race of the season with a 12th place finish in 23:45.3. She was followed closely by Olivia Cotey (17th, 24:02.7), Kate Mattson (19th, 24:24.3), and Dayne Behning (23rd, 25:33.8). Completing the six-girl team was Elizabeth Wing (38th, 28:42.0) and Kaylen Kienitz (42nd, 30:24.1). While the team finished 4th out of five scoring teams, they brought home the first place award in the small school division. On the boys side, Danny Goss was back in top form by placing 2nd overall in a time of 16:49.5. Blake Lakosky (18th, 19:12.3), Nolan Dolaskie (35th, 21:49.7), and Nate Petersen (36th, 21:52.9) completed the boys team.
The middle schoolers again ran well at the Soo. The girls team placed third out of four scoring teams. Emma Concklin again led the team with a second place finish with a time of 13:34.2. Karter Goings was close behind in fifth place in 14:15.2. Completing the team was Maddie Kulppi (15th, 15:37.7), Payton Brey (25th, 17:20.7), Kahlan Ramsey (26th, 17:24.1), Ava Prunick (32nd, 18:03.5), Peyton Dyer (34th, 18:21.5), Miika Michelson (35th, 18:37.7), and Amber Defrancesco (47th, 20:17.8). The boys had a fine race with Evan Kelto placing fourth in a time of 12:44.0, and Trey Defrancesco captured 21st place in 16:26.1.
After the meet, middle school coach Bob Wing summed up the week. “We had two meets this unusually warm fall week. First was our home meet and then a Saturday meet at the Soo. Despite fighting some illnesses and injuries, our team was able to turn in some outstanding performances. We were very happy with how they competed. So this coming up week we are hoping to get back to full strength and begin our final preparations for our conference meet and UP Finals”.
Head coach Mark Kinnunen had these thoughts. “We’re heading into the final weeks of the season and hoping to see some big improvements leading into our last four meets. The Harger and Soo meets had some ups and downs, but we’re still in a great position to pull off something special in the Finals. I’m proud of our kids for continuing to fight through hot weather and some bumps and bruises”.
The following meet was yesterday at Escanaba. Make sure to check next week’s paper for the results. The complete meet schedule can be found at munisingathletics. com.
