Cheboygan cross country teams finish third at SAC Meet No. 2
CHEBOYGAN – With a young group of runners on both of her teams, it’s been all about progression for Cheboygan cross country coach Sandy Safford.
So far this season, it looks like many of her young and talented runners are developing nicely.
On Monday, the Chiefs saw several runners turn in solid performances at Straits Area Conference Meet No. 2 at the Cheboygan Golf & Country Club.
Taking on a hilly course on a rainy day, the third-place Cheboygan boys (115 points) were led by a strong eighth-place finish from freshman Carson Kiefer, who clocked a time of 20:52, while freshman brother Andrew Kiefer’s 21:37 time was good enough for 16th overall.
“Carson ran a really smart race,” said Safford. “We kept talking to him about moving up two places, moving up two places, because he was back in like 20th for a while, and by the time he rolled around to about the mile-and-a-half mark, he was already pushing up. Andrew (Kiefer) had a really nice finish, he was 16th, and then Alex Hudson snuck in at 20th, which we’re excited about because he was 24th at the first conference meet, and we told him, ‘You’ve got to do it, you’ve got to push up and be at this spot in order to be OK.’”
Hudson, another freshman who has taken significant strides in recent weeks, finished 20th at 22:32.
“He is still working on where he fits and how he’s doing things,” Safford said of Hudson. “He was all-conference last year as an eighth grader, so we’re just trying to get him into high school mode, get that extra mile in there, and he’s been working extra hard to do well with it.”
Braxton Esper (25:56) took 35th, Steven Ramsby (25:56) was 36th, Evan Blaskowski (28:26) placed 40th, and Sam Patrick (28:59) registered 41st for the Cheboygan boys.
Meanwhile, the Cheboygan girls saw three runners finish in the top 20, led by sophomore Samantha Harke, who earned 10th with a 23:17 time. Junior Alexia McCarthy (26:42) and sophomore Zelia Hill (28:05) finished 16th and 20th place respectively.
“She looks really good – and she keeps moving up,” Safford said of Harke. “She was 11th at the last conference meet, and so 10th this time around. She ran a really solid race. Alexia (McCarthy) did not run the first conference race so she was really eager to do well and to make sure she had a really strong finish. She was sitting at 12th and she only went back a few places, so she did a really nice job.”
Safford noted the improvement of Hill and fellow sophomore Nola Ecker, whose 28:13 time earned her a 22nd-place finish.
“Nola (Ecker) and Z (Hill) did well,” Safford said. “Z had a really nice finish. Coming up that hill at the end of the race, it’s not easy. It’s just a killer finish and she (Hill) started booking it there, because I kept telling her, ‘This girl in front of you is 20th, that’s 20th, you have to go and beat her,’ and Nola was working on her the whole time. She’s still sitting just outside of (all-conference). She was 21st before.”
Rounding out the Cheboygan girls were Addison Ptasnik (29:14), who finished 26th, Jillian McKinley (30:16), who was 28th, and Avery Jones (43:44), who took 36th.
The Cheboygan girls (94) finished third as a team, also.
Sault Ste. Marie freshman Gabe Litzner cruised to first individually in the boys race with an 18:07 time, while Newberry runner Samantha Taylor’s 20:46 time took first in the girls race.
Team-wise, both Sault teams took first on Monday.
The Cheboygan Golf & Country Club course provided a strong challenge for all runners looking to post decent times.
“It’s a challenging course, it really is,” Safford said. “They do about five sets of hills where it’s an up-down, up-down, and that’s not as challenging as the little baby rollers that they have, where they have these little bumps, but a lot of (the runners) are just like, ‘I’d rather just do one big hill and just run these mogul hills,’ but they were excited about it, they wanted to have a good race, and they did a nice job with it.”
Overall, Safford loves the direction her teams are heading in as October approaches.
“We’re excited about it,” Safford said. “This year, we have 15 kids, one senior and two juniors, so as long as we keep the core group going – and we’ve got some good eighth graders coming up, too – we’re excited about the future."
With one more conference race to go next month, Safford has high hopes for her runners.
“We’d like to be second or third place (as a team), that’s kind of the hope,” Safford said. “And then to walk away with at least three medals, boys and girls, so that would be awesome. If we could do four for girls, that would be great. We’re just hoping to keep improving and we're looking forward to Mackinaw City.”
Cheboygan will run at the Mackinaw Club Invitational on Thursday.
As for the middle school meet, both Cheboygan teams finished in first place on Monday.
For the Cheboygan Middle School boys, who saw four runners finish inside the top 15, Gavin Smith (13:32) finished second individually, Harold Polzin (13:42) was fourth, Russell Abernathy (13:57) earned sixth, and Carter Hudson (14:45) was 11th. Other Cheboygan runners were Abram Preston (21st, 16:31), Nolan Eustice (29th, 18:12), Jose Castro (31st, 18:24), Collin Mersch (32nd, 18:28), Sebastian Schittekat (36th, 19:59), Duncan Spies (37th, 19:59), Samuel Kubiak (39th, 20:31), Payton Wiley (43rd, 24:38), and Taegan Custard (44th, 27:55).
On the Cheboygan girls side, five runners finished in the top 20, including Cloee Rupp (15:36), who took sixth, Briahna Campbell (15:44), who was seventh, Isabella Hingston (15:52), who earned eighth, Ella LaRocque (16:46), who posted 15th, and Adele Schulz (16:47), who registered 16th. Nadia Chandler (23rd, 18:31), Makayla Abernathy (26th, 18:52), Adelyn Schalau (32nd, 19:30), Ava Hayden (44th, 22:02), and Bella Schoolcraft (46th, 22:52) rounded out the Cheboygan girls.
Straits Area Conference Meet No. 2 Results
Boys Team Scores
1. Sault, 20
2. Engadine, 56
3. Cheboygan, 115
4. Newberry, 132
5. Rudyard, 133
6. Brimley, 166
7. Pickford, 166
8. St. Ignace, 180
9. Islanders, 184
Boys Individual
1. Gabe Litzner, Sault, 18:07
2. Logan Haskins, Sault, 19:25
3. Evan Huyck, Sault, 20:21
4. Brent Maurer, Sault, 20:23
5. Conrad Spieles, Sault, 20:33
6. Brode Hunt, Rudyard, 20:41
7. Duane Krenek, Engadine, 20:48
8. Carson Kiefer, Cheboygan, 20:52
9. Dakota Taylor, Engadine, 20:56
10. Shea Armstrong, Sault, 21:00
Girls Team
1. Sault, 35
2. Engadine, 81
3. Cheboygan, 94
4. Newberry, 108
5. Rudyard, 116
6. St. Ignace, 131
7. Islanders, 153
8. Brimley, 161
9. Pickford, 177
Girls Individual
1. Samantha Taylor, Newberry, 20:46
2. Cassandra Gallagher, Sault, 21:00
3. Kaylen Clark, Newberry, 22:22
4. Abigail Walther, Sault, 23:30
5. Liliana Carson, Cedarville-DeTour, 23:52
6. Wisteria Brady, St. Ignace, 23:57
7. Dayna Szabo, Sault, 24:02
8. Leah French, Engadine, 24:11
9. Calla Armstrong, Sault, 24:45
10. Samantha Harke, Cheboygan, 23:17
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Chiefs finish middle of the pack at SAC Meet No. 2
