By John Vrancic
For the Newberry News
The Engadine boys had been chasing Rudyard throughout this cross country season.
That wasn’t the case in Engadine on September 30, however, as the Eagles won the opening leg of the Eastern U.P. Conference Jamboree with 49 points.
Rudyard was runner-up at 69, followed by Mackinaw City 101, Newberry and Cedarville-DeTour 117, St. Ignace 131, Brimley 157, Pickford 174 and Paradise 180.
“Our goal was to beat Rudyard,” Engadine coach Tracy Germain said. “We had it set. For example, our third guy had to be in front of their third guy. A lot of guys stepped up. We’re getting ready for the U.P. (Division 3) Finals.”
Engadine senior Dakota Taylor won the boys’ race at Hiawatha Sportsman’s Golf Club, covering the 4.6-kilometer course in 16:57.6 on this sunny and mild afternoon.
He was followed by Rudyard junior Steven Kirschner at 17:31.1 and Cedarville-DeTour sophomore Ethan Snyder (17:42).
“I tried to set the pace early,” Taylor said. “I really prepared myself to run by myself. It took a tremendous amount of preparation to get to this point. It was a short course, a little less than three miles, and a little different from the past.”
Eagles’ junior Duane Krenek placed fourth (17:46.7), followed by freshman Coleman Loebach in 13th (19:07.5), Eddie Frankowiak 24th (20:01.4) and Birch Bitely (24:11).
“This was one of my best races,” Krenek said. “I enjoyed it and I’m glad we won it. I thought we might do it. Rudyard is pretty tough. I think this will give us momentum. I think everybody is coming together.”
Senior Sam Rahilly was Newberry’s pacesetter in 19th (19:34.6), followed by junior Kellen Bruno 22nd (19:54.3), sophomore Oliver Sevarns 28th (20:59.3), freshman Colter Kitzman 36th (23:19.3), and junior Shawn Harrison 44th (25:42.6).
Sophomore Austin Guthrie led Paradise in 23rd (19:55.4). He was followed by Jaiven Kohler 27th (20:50.4), freshmen Blake Middleton 35th (23:16.9) and Damon Morgan 47th (33:06.4).
The Brimley girls won with 59 points. They were followed by St. Ignace 70, Pickford 73, Newberry 86, Engadine 90, Rudyard 91, and Mackinaw City 135.
Pickford junior Talya Schreiber took the girls’ race at 18:19.4), followed by Newberry junior Samantha Taylor (18:31.3) and sophomore Abby Taylor (18:44.7).
“After the first mile, I tried to stride it out,” Samantha said. “I had to keep pace with Talya. I’m happy with how my race went. I like running when it’s nice out. I liked the conditions.”
Abby wanted to come out of the gate quickly.
“I started a little faster today,” she said. “I didn’t want to get caught in the crowd. I’m also happy with today’s race and like these conditions. It wasn’t too hot. This is a pretty big confidence builder for sure.”
Engadine eighth-grader Molly McNamara placed fourth (19:26.5) and senior Claire Oven took fifth (22:16.7).
“I think this helps me quite a bit,” McNamara said. “I think this prepares me for future meets. It felt pretty good to start the conference meets this way. Claire did well, too. I tried to stay with the leaders, but they got too far ahead of me.”
“Molly had a great race,” Germain said. “Claire had been struggling in the last couple races but ran a strong race today. We’re mentally ready for the next one.”
Area teams ran in the second conference meet at Rudyard Monday.
Next is Saturday’s Rudyard Autumn Classic at 11:30 p.m., followed by the final leg of the Eastern U.P. Conference Jamboree at Pickford on October 15.