Alpena’s boys cross country team overcame the absence of junior co-captain Brendan Werth to win the Blue division Saturday at the Shepherd Bluejay Invitational. The Wildcats scored 61 points and finished first among 15 teams.
Bay City Western placed second with 81 points, followed by Gaylord with 88 and Midland with 95. Alpena’s winning team score came from finishes of 1-2-18-19-21.
Allen leads Alpena to team victory
Junior Xander Allen won the 5-kilometer race in 15 minutes, 46.2 seconds. It was his third consecutive victory and fourth win of the season.
Junior Logan Szumila, returning from injury, was Alpena’s second runner and finished second overall in 16:38.9. The next five Alpena runners all recorded personal records as the Wildcats covered for Werth, who was sidelined by a foot injury.
Senior Milo Dahleen finished in 17:55.9, followed by junior Jude Krey in 17:59.0, freshman Harrison McKay in 18:08.4, senior Joel Kaiser in 18:50.4 and freshman Damion Moore in 19:02.5.
Girls finish seventh
Alpena’s girls team placed seventh while also competing with a roster affected by illness and injury. Freshman Hailey Schultz led the Wildcats again, setting a personal record with a time of 21:31.5.
Senior Ava Karsten finished in 22:27.8, junior Lila Scott in 22:48.6, sophomore Abby Misiak in 23:18.0, sophomore Madison Srebnik in 24:06.1 and senior Lexi Gembel in 25:24.6.
Karsten, Scott, Misiak, Srebnik and Gembel also posted personal-best times at the invitational.