Over a dozen teams and over 100 racers competed at the Superior Central Invite on Saturday, September 9. The 5K race was held in Eben Junction at the Superior Central Schools fitness trails and around the softball and baseball facilities on the east side of E-T Road. It was the Gladstone Braves that took both the boys and girls varsity meets, with the boys routing second-place Gwinn 34-114, while the girls kept just ahead of Stephenson in a 60-75 race to victory.

Munising had a strong performance, led by the Goss’s. Serving as number one runners for the boys and the girls team, Danny and Alex had top 10 finishes in their respective divisions. Munising also won the girls middle school meet, which was also held at the same course.

“It was a great race. It was our first time at Superior Central because we had always gone to different races,” Munising Head Cross Country Coach Mark Kinnunen said. “It was very well organized and I was really happy we got to see some good competition on the course.”

The home team struggled a bit on the day, with the SC girls team finishing ninth of 11 teams. Kiera McDonnald and Rowan Ollender led the Cougars with 22nd and 23rd place finishes respectively. On the boys side, the Cougars finished in fourth. Will Spranger and Cody Moore finished in the top 13 for SC.

A youth race was also held with many varsity runners and coaches joining in with elementary school runners. According to Kinnunen, it was a great event to promote the sport.

“It was a long day and everyone was tired, but people were still willing to help and have some fun. It was neat to see at the end of the day,” he said.