Sault XC Dominates in Gladstone

A near sweep of all the events, the Sault School cross country teams prevailed at the Farmhouse Invitational in Gladstone on Monday. The Sault teams had a first place finisher in four of the six races they competed in.

The Varsity Boys won their 5K run, with a score of 22 points. The unranked Blue Devils had runners in four of the top five places at the end of the day. Gabe Litzner (17:02.7) crossed the finish line first. Shea Armstrong (17:49.60) was third, Eli Hills (19:22.7) was fourth, and Evan Huyck (19:23.7) was fifth. Ryan O’Connor (19:43.2), Chase Aldridge (20:32.2) and Isaac Brindley (21:24.6) completed the championship squad. Head Coach Jim Martin was excited about the runners’ efforts. “Gabe and Shea did their usual great job. Evan and Eli really stepped up and Ryan ran well too.”

The Varsity Girls, currently ranked third in Division 1, won their 5K run, with 25 points. Four of the girls made the top six spots. Abby Walther (23:09.8) placed third, Elise Proulx (23:55.2) was fourth, Stephanie Jones (24:03.8) came in fifth, and Regan Sporte (24:09.1) placed sixth in the event. Calla Armstrong (25:55.5), Leighton Nyboer (25:59.8), and Dayna Szabo (26:35.7) contributed to the team’s success. “Abby and Elise ran their usual excellent races. But Steph and Regan really stepped up their game as some of our other runners fell victim to the heat. That being said, I think we handled the heat better than most.”

The Junior Varsity Boys took first in their 5K run, earning 23 points, with McKal Berry (20:15.6) winning the event. Devin Goetz (21:33) was third, Easton Hills (22:34) was fourth, Aiden Burtt (23:59.1) was seventh, Arlin Alcorn (25:58.9) was eighth and Hayden Preston (27:54.3) rounded out the top ten finishers. Camren McClenny (27:54.3) and Johnny Osborn (36:13.6) had great finishes as well. “JV’s did well also. McKal ran what I think was the best race of his life. At the 2 mile he was neck and neck with a Gladstone runner but turned on the afterburners and won by over a hundred yards.”

The Junior Varsity Girls took first with 15 points, led by winner Eleanor Carey (26:36.1). Noa Durand-Cabeza (38:36.5) was runner up, Taylor Meilstrup (28:53) came in third, Hailee O’Connor (30:21.2) was fourth, and Gianna Sayer (30:31.1) took fifth place. Evelyn Weber (31:21.4), Chloe Brow (33:31.7), Savannah Proulx (35:06.8) and Thelma Osumili (40:29) finished eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh respectively.

“Really impressed by what they did with the heat and six (3 each way) hours on a bus.”

The Sault Middle School Boys team placed first in their two mile run, with 34 points. Ian Southwell (12:48.7) crossed first, with Drew Burtt (13:16.9) not too far behind him as runner up. Zachary Peterson (13:21) earned the fourth place spot. David Hollister (15:02.1), Mace Kavanaugh (15:07.8), Nolan Green (15:55.4), Collin Numker (16:08.8), Chancellor Gardner (17:02.9), Jacob Proulx (17:30.8), Chase Halvorsen (18:45.6) and AJ Guilmette (19:52.6) rounded out the winning team.

The Sault Middle School girls were a very close second to Escanaba in their race, with 32 points compared to Escanaba’s 28. The team had four runner make the top ten. Isabelle McCord (14:34.4) was runner up, Cora Goulet (14:51.6) took third, Isabeau Woodard (15:16) came in fourth, and Anna Klozatsky (16:37.1) took tenth place. Isabelle Cicco (17:36.7), River Brey (18:40.4), Olivia Nyboer (20:08.8), Kruze Taylor (20:18), Shelby Woolever (22:12.6), Sophia Emerson (21:13.7), Annalise Kasprzak (21:27.6) and Nicole Perez (21:42.1) all put in an excellent effort during the run.

Middle School Coach Stephanie Vert had a lot of great things to say about her teams. “I’m so proud of the way the kids ran Tuesday. Both teams have been strong all season and their times are improving every meet they run! The Barnyard meet was hot and windy but the kids ran hard and proved how hard they’ve worked. Our final conference meet is Monday and I’m looking forward to watching them compete.”

The teams will compete in the Straits Area Conference Finals in Rudyard on Monday.