OTSEGO — Three Rivers’ boys’ cross country team had a successful week this past week, finishing fourth at the Otsego Bulldog Invite Saturday, Sept. 28 and defeating Vicksburg Tuesday.
In the Bulldog Invite, the boys’ team scored 216 points to finish fourth. The Wildcats were led by Sullivan Zietlow, who took eighth place overall in the meet with a time of 16:01. He was followed in the varsity top five by Charlie Brauer (23rd, 16:35 (PR)), Jonah Zietlow (58th, 17:30), Reece Howes (62nd, 17:40), and David Kore (73rd, 17:57). The top seven was rounded out by Trey Hall (79th, 18:13) and Dontrel Taylor (89th, 18:26 (PR)).
Head Coach Jason Muckel noted that Brauer broke 17 minutes in his time for the first time ever.
Against Vicksburg Tuesday, the boys’ team won 23-36, putting their conference record at 4-1 and a tie for first place in the Wolverine. Sullivan Zietlow led the team with a second-place finish and a time of 17:13. The top seven was rounded out by Brauer (3rd, 17:28), Howes (5th, 17:55), Kore (6th, 18:18), Hall (7th, 18:31), Jonah Zietlow (8th, 19:00), and Tony Hilton (11th, 19:22).
For the girls’ team, the Wildcats finished 17th at Saturday’s Bulldog Invite and defeated Vicksburg 17-40 Tuesday.
In the Bulldog Invite, the girls’ team scored 431 points. They were led by Brynn Copenhaver finishing in 73rd place with a new personal best of 21:33. She was followed by Gabby Kilbourn (82nd, 21:46), Lillie Kerr (89th, 22:03), Savannah Headley (94th, 22:23 (PR)), and Sarela Cruz (103rd, 22:43 (PR)). The varsity top seven was rounded out by Rylea Summey (135th, 24:55) and Yarely Lopez Chacon (141st, 25:28).
Against Vicksburg, the girls moved to 2-3 on the conference season with their win. Leading the way was Kilbourn, who won the race with a time of 21:16. She was followed by Copenhaver (2nd, 21:51), Kerr (3rd, 22:01), Headley (5th, 23:31), Cruz (6th, 23:52), Laighnee Roll-Pike (9th, 25:17), and Morgan Kilbourn (16th, 27:01).
“It was a great night of racing for our TRHS CC team taking wins on both the boys and girls side against a conference rival. We have some time to get fresh and healthy as we head into the Portage Invitational on Saturday,” Muckel said.
Holtz sets new Sturgis school record at Otsego Invite
OTSEGO — The Sturgis boys and girls cross country teams competed in the Otsego Invitational last Saturday, with the girls placing seventh and the boys coming in 15th.
For the girls, Berkeley Holtz ran to a fourth place finish, coming in with a time of 18:16.62, setting a new school record in the process. Sydney Bir recorded a time of 19:25, a personal best for her, and good for 17th place. Tessa Hatt ran a time of 19:41, also a personal best and a 29th place finish, while Eleanor Park also had a personal best of 21:14, and a 67th place finish.
Otsego claimed the top spot with 78 points, while the Lady Trojans finished seventh at 188 points.
For the boys, Nolan Park recorded a personal best time of 16:33, finishing in 21st place, while Benji Morales crossed the line with a personal best time of 16:54. Holland Christian placed first with 109 points, while Sturgis came in 15th with 339 points.
Earlier in the week, Both Sturgis cross country teams took part in the Plainwell Tri-Meet, with the girls going 2-0, and the boys finishing 0-2.
The Lady Trojans beat Plainwell 30-33, and also bested Three Rivers, 30-60. Berkeley Holtz took first place, crossing the line in 21:27, while teammate Sydney Bir finished second with a time of 22:04. The boys lost to Plainwell and Three Rivers by the respective scores of 30-55 and 38-55. Nolan Park placed fourth, coming across with a time of 18:32, while Benji Morales finished sixth, finishing in 18:55.
