HOUGHTON — The Marquette girls cross country team continued its winning ways Saturday, earning a fifth-straight Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals title with 49 points at Michigan Tech.  

The Sentinels were followed closely by Houghton with 55 points, Sault Ste. Marie with 67 and Negaunee with 83. Marquette freshman Charlotte Jones was crowned individual champion by covering the 3.1-mile course in 19 minutes, 42.4 seconds.

“It’s the mental aspect of it, keeping positive thoughts and pushing through the pain,” she said. “It was just a matter of passing the other girls. I was sixth after the first mile and third after the second. It was really hot in the sun. Houghton is pretty good. It’s a little more satisfying winning when it’s close. I’m just proud of our team.”

Marquette coach Kyle Detmers was naturally pleased with the team’s performance.

“We knew it’d be a battle,” he said. “We had a game plan. Charlotte ran a great race and I want to give a shout-out to Evelyn Grant and to Houghton for hosting the meet. They have a great venue. Emma Ziegler and Ava Cantway and the rest of our girls also had great races.”

Ziegler, a sophomore, finished sixth individually, while Cantway – also a sophomore – placed ninth. Sophomore Amira Perrier placed 13^th, senior Eryn Veverka rounded out the scoring in 20^th and sophomore Sophie Coxon was right there as well placing 21^st. 

Kingsford junior Maria Murvich placed second at 20:02.8, and Negaunee freshman Julia Plaxco was third (20:11.6).

“My time wasn’t super-fast,” Murvich said. “The heat didn’t help, although Charlotte definitely ran a great race. I have another year. I definitely want to take another shot at it. This is certainly a motivator. This will get me to work a little harder and put in more miles.”

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Division 2

Munising captured its first Finals title in four years, taking top honors in Division 2 with 48 points. The Mustangs, who were crowned Division 3 champions in 2022, were followed by last year’s Division 2 champion Rudyard with 57 points and Painesdale Jeffers with 69.

“It’s awesome,” Munising coach Bob Hill said. “This is a young team which battled injuries all year. Our depth is huge. Hats off to the other teams that pushed us all year. The journey was a blast.”

Newberry senior Abby Taylor gained her first U.P. Finals individual title in 20:16.1, and sophomore teammate Molly McNamara was runner-up at 20:29.3. 

Taylor had finished second as a sophomore and third as both a freshman and junior. 

“It’s super exciting,” Taylor said. “I felt I had a pretty good chance, and I’m happy about Molly taking second. This is probably the toughest course I ran on. I wanted to go out conservatively and save it for the next two miles. My finish wasn’t the best. The hills toward the end were tough. Those took a lot out of me.”

McNamara said she was feeling a little under the weather.

“I definitely didn’t feel the best,” she added. “My feet were pretty sore, and it got a little hot out there. My goal was to get under 20 (minutes). Although, it’s a good course. There were a lot of long hills. I had a pretty good season overall. I’m really excited for track next spring.”

Munising freshman Emma Conklin placed third (21:15.1), and junior Addie Bowerman was seventh (21:56) to lead the team title charge. Freshman Edon Kidd (14^th) and juniors Maya Weiss (15^th) and Zoey Kidd (17^th) rounded out the scoring.

“It’s so cool to win as a team,” Bowerman said. “This is what we worked for all year. To go home with the championship trophy is so awesome. Emma ran a great race. Everybody did her best, which is all you can ask for.”

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Division 3

L’Anse retained its Division 3 title with 38 points, followed by Ewen-Trout Creek with 74 and Rapid River with 82.

Juniors Lily Froese (seventh), Kwynn Voskuhl (ninth) and Princess Pierre (10^th) led a balanced championship lineup, with senior Tessa Thor (13^th) and junior Aaliha Maki (17^th) right behind him. 

“One of our keys to success is the athletes held each other accountable,” L’Anse coach Erin DiCarlo said. “This is a tight-knit group. This is also huge for our program. It helps other kids when they see the success. It was good for us to run against Houghton. They’re the only team to beat us all year. They made us better.”

Eben Junction Superior Central freshman Edye Burdett was the individual winner in 19:55. She was followed by E-TC senior Bree Besonen (20:46.7) and Crystal Falls Forest Park freshman Ellie Zaupa (21:59).

“I’m super happy with how everything went today,” Burdett said. “I was hoping to run with Charlotte (Jones). I was very, very fortunate with the results. This is certainly a motivator.”

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PHOTOS (Top) Runners take off at the start of the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final on Saturday on the Michigan Tech Nordic Ski Trails. (Middle) Runners begin to separate during the first portion of the Division 2 race. (Below) Ewen-Trout Creek's Bree Besonen (290) and Eben Junction Superior Central's Edye Burdett (269) lead the Division 3 Final. (Photos by Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)