The Portage Invitational has long been one of those key mile markers along the course of the high school cross country season and Saturday’s event shows the Pioneer girls’ team is on pace for another big finish.
The Pioneers landed in third place in the 39-team field that included some of the top programs in the state. Romeo crossed first with an impressive 46 points while Saline took second (154 points), Pioneer third (159), Holland West Ottawa fourth (164) and Brighton fifth (180).
Two other local teams had strong performances. Skyline finished with 489 points to take 17th place, one spot ahead of SEC rival Dexter (536 points).
Holland West Ottawa senior Helen Sachs, who finished 11th at last year’s state finals and has won every race this year, took first overall with a time of 17:04.6. Pioneer’s outstanding freshman Natasza Dudek took second with a time of 17:46.6.
Pioneer’s Sienna Klemmer took fifth with a time of 18:14.8. Also only a freshman, Klemmer has finished in the top 10 in every race so far in her young career. Her PR is 17:52.77 clocked Sept. 28 at the Otsego Bulldog Invitational.
Pioneer junior Hana Boggess was 15th with a time of 18:40.3. Other strong finishes for Pioneer were run by sophomore Nina Moore (51st, 19:36.3), senior Lucy Pike (86th, 20:20.1), junior Bridget Kerber (108th, 20:37.8) and senior Clara Peikert (121st, 20:48.1).
The Eagles had three sophomores land at the top of their scorecard. Skyline was led by Becca Van Lent (43rd, 19:20.3), Isla Tharp (68th, 19:55.6) and Irie Scrase (89th, 20:21.2). Freshman Lila Edison was 126th in 20:51.4, senior Ayla Balazer was 163rd (21:24.4), sophomore Alison Kauffman was 185th (21:48.3) and sophomore Mara Mocanu (188th, 21:50.4).
Dexter’s Alena Blumberg continues her strong season. The senior finished 40th with a time of 19:19.4 to lead the Dreadnaughts across the finish line.
Also running strong races for Dexter were sophomore Kodie Snyder (61st, 19:46.7), freshman Layla Blumberg (132nd, 21:01.9), junior Amelia Cribbins (148th, 21:10.7), senior Addison Bruckman (155th, 21:14.4), senior Annabel O’Haver (180th, 21:43.2) and junior Avery Hoeft (184th, 21:48.3).
