EAST LANSING — The Marquette Senior High School cross country teams made a long trip worth it at the Spartan Invitational held Sept. 15 in East Lansing.
Competing in the Green Race for certain MHSAA Division 1 schools, the Marquette girls won the team title by a single point in a field of 22 schools as MSHS was powered by a pair of top-10 finishes.
The Marquette boys were entered in the Spartan Elite Division for the biggest schools at the meet and the Upper Peninsula representatives came in ninth place among 22 schools.
The event included a dozen meets for runners ranging from middle school through college.
Both Marquette teams get back on the trails Tuesday afternoon at the El Harger Memorial Invitational slated for Pictured Rocks Golf Club in Munising.
Then MSHS heads downstate again this weekend, taking part in the Blue Jay Invitational in Shepherd, located between Mount Pleasant and Alma.
Here is a rundown about each Marquette team:
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Fure, Harma lead MSHS girls
Marquette had to be happy with an unaccustomed high point total of 142 as MSHS was just one of numerous schools of its size in the meet.
The MSHS total came in one point ahead of runner-up Novi’s 143 as Plymouth Salem was third with 162 and Lake Orion fourth with 167.
Marquette’s key was sophomore Ella Fure finishing seventh in 19 minutes, 56.8 seconds and senior teammate Abby Harma ninth in 20:02.1.
It marked Harma’s fourth personal record this season.
“This was a monumental performance for our girls team,” MSHS head coach Derek Marr in an email detailing results from the event. “(We) have dramatically improved over the last year and (our) hard work is beginning to be rewarded by significant race results.
“We knew we would be good after winning the Wildcat Invitational (in Marquette on Aug. 26) and in the process beating Macomb Dakota that is currently 17th in the (Lower Peninsula Division 1) rankings. Beating over 20 (Lower Peninsula Division 1) teams in the same race shows that we can compete with anyone, regardless of division or peninsula.
“This group has exemplified hard work, positive attitudes and support of one another. I hope that it is recognized that U.P. teams can cross the (Mackinac) Bridge and come back with championship team trophies.”
While a team like Novi placed all five of its scoring runners between 26th and 31st, Marquette had to get quality finishes out of its other runners to have a chance at the team title.
Junior Monet Argeropoulos did just that, joining Fure and Harma in earning a top-30 individual medal by coming in 24th in 20:59.4, according to the Superior Timing website at superiortiming.com.
Just as important was junior Tessa Bruns coming in 47th in 21:43.5 and freshman Cora Wernholm 56th in 21:56.9.
Marr noted that Bruns had a season-best time on this day, passing 22 runners between the first mile and finish on a 3.1-mile (five-kilometer) course.
A dozen Marquette runners took to the course, with three more placing in the top 100 — junior Claire Maskart 79th in 22:26.8, freshman Eryn Veverka 81st in 22:30.3 and junior Maija Maki-Warne 82nd in 22:32.0.
Also placing for MSHS were juniors Violet Papin, Ida Larsen, Julia Moyle and Rosemary Elenbaas as Superior Timing listed 210 finishers and 215 in all entered.
Bay City Western junior Isabelle Becker won the race in 18:51.1, about 22 seconds ahead of runner-up Hannah Deroeck of Lake Orion.
Some of the other noteworthy schools in Marquette’s division were Grand Ledge, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, Farmington Hills Mercy, Grand Rapids South Christian, Birmingham Seaholm, Alpena, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Waterford Kettering.
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MSHS boys finish in pack
The Marquette boys tied New Albany for ninth place with 267 points in the Spartan Elite Division as a look at times appeared to have the fastest times among four boys divisions at the event.
Marquette earned ninth place as its sixth runner came in 79th place while New Albany’s was 82nd.
“This race featured the top three ranked teams in MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1, and five of the 24 teams that have received ranking votes in the latest coaches poll,” Marr said. “There were also multiple teams that are among the best in Ohio that comprised this field.”
Brighton and Northville tied for the top spot with 93 points apiece, but Brighton won on the sixth-runner tiebreaker with that runner finishing 29th as Northville’s was 32nd.
Grand Haven was third with 126, Dublin Jerome fourth with 139, Bay City Western fifth with 215, New Baltimore Anchor Bay and Walled Lake Northern tied for sixth with 226 and Hilliard Davidson eighth with 244.
Among other teams finishing behind Marquette were Okemos, Fremont, Chelsea, Port Huron Northern, Dearborn Divine Child and Cranbrook Kingswood.
“Our ninth-place finish on the boys side was a significant improvement from our performance last year,” Marr said. “On a day that we were a little bit off, we demonstrated that we belong in races of this caliber, beating 10 highly competitive schools from Michigan and Ohio.
“Evan Balko, James Barch and Lucas Ballard ran (personal records) and finished in our team’s top seven. These individual performances were significant as Barch is new to the sport, Ballard is a freshman and Balko was never a scoring runner in his first two seasons on the team.”
Junior Seppi Camilli had MSHS’ top finish of 38th in 16:40.1, while Balko, also a junior, was less than a second behind him in 39th in 16:40.8. Barch, another junior, came in 65th in 17:14.0, while senior Cullen Papin was 73rd in 17:21.9 and sophomore Peter Argeropoulos rounded out Marquette scorers in 81st in 17:28.5.
The important sixth finisher that broke MSHS’ tie for ninth and 10th place was junior Chase Thomsen, 95th overall in 17:43.2, while Ballard, a freshman, was 100th in 17:49.6.
Also finishing for MSHS was senior James Kraeg, sophomores Rorik Holmquist and Ben Kuhl and juniors Jack Parent and Mathew Tripp.
“It is exciting to see new guys step up this season,” Marr said. “Between the performance at MSU and beating Macomb Dakota (at the Wildcat Invite), the current No. 11 ranked team in (Lower Peninsula Division 1), we are confident we could contend in any division and on any peninsula in Michigan.”
Thomas McMahon of Upper Arlington won this division. But despite his elite time of 15:05.6, he barely edged out runner-up Samuel Ricchiuti of Dublin Jerome by just four-tenths of a second. And Chelsea’s Connell Alford was third about three seconds behind them in 15:09.1.
In all, 15 runners broke the 16-minute barrier, with another 34, including Camilli and Balko, breaking 17 minutes.
Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.
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