Advertisement

Charlevoix relays open area cross country season for many

drew kochanny, the petoskey news-review
·3 min read

CHARLEVOIX — One of the focuses for every high school athletic team early in the season is building team bonds and relationships.

That goes for all sports, including cross country, a sport where someone’s results are based solely on their individual performance.

At least that's the case in most races.

So, what better way to build some chemistry in the sport than a season-opening relay? For many around the area, the annual Ryan Shay Relays have been the start for years, and that was true again over the weekend.

The Petoskey girls' cross country team grabbed a first place finish within the large school division of the race, opening their season with a win.
The Petoskey girls' cross country team grabbed a first place finish within the large school division of the race, opening their season with a win.

The race featured a number of programs from across the area, including Petoskey, Boyne City, East Jordan, Harbor Springs, Johannesburg-Lewiston and of course the host Rayders.

Runners paired up with a teammate to put together a combined time within the race – which totaled six miles –  each running every other mile. When one runner finished a mile, the other took off.

MORE: Boyne City, Charlevoix cross country programs come together for team camp

Final meet results were then broken into a large school and small school division, with top three scorers added together for large schools and top two for small schools.

On the girls side, Petoskey earned the large school win with 13 points, followed by Charlevoix, 21; Benzie Central, 23; and Boyne City, 31. J-L then took the small school win with three points, followed by Harbor Springs, eight; Leland, 13; and East Jordan, 18.

The Petoskey boys' cross country team shows off their first place finish for the large school division in the Ryan Shay Relays this weekend.
The Petoskey boys' cross country team shows off their first place finish for the large school division in the Ryan Shay Relays this weekend.

For the boys, Petoskey led again with six points, followed by Benzie Central, 22; Charlevoix, 25; and Boyne City, 38. J-L then took the small school win with three points again, Harbor Springs had seven; East Jordan, 13; and Ellsworth, 17.

J-L’s Malaki Gascho and Blake Fox earned the overall win in 31 minutes, 4 seconds in the boys race.

Petoskey’s Dylan Odenbach/Shane Izzard took first among the big schools with a time of 31:41, while Brady Odenbach/Tommy Farley placed second in 31:58. Petoskey also had Parker Fettig/Jack Lindwall place third in 33:02 and Reeve Oberman/Simon Licata, fifth (33:17).

MORE: Check out the top 27 high school football players this year: Vote for preseason player of the year

For Charlevoix, Hunter Eaton/David Dhaseleer placed fourth (33:10), Harbor Springs’ Trevor Clarke/Logan Kihnke placed third (33:53) and Henry Kruzel/Adam Ferguson placed fourth (33:57).

Charlevoix also had Matthew Solomon/Jacob Veurink place eighth (34:29) and Boyne City was led by Charlie Pope/Finn Parish in 10th (35:10).

For East Jordan, Jacob Chamberlain/Austin Snead led in a fifth place small school finish (34:53).

Within the girls race, Benzie Central’s Mylie Kelly and Nora Grossnickle earned the overall win in 35:40.

Petoskey’s Nora O’Leary/CamBrie Corey then placed first for large schools in 36:30.

The teams that took part in the annual Ryan Shay Relays in Charlevoix over the weekend come together following the race. The event came as the season opener for many around the area.
The teams that took part in the annual Ryan Shay Relays in Charlevoix over the weekend come together following the race. The event came as the season opener for many around the area.

Petoskey also had Ava Pawlick/Lauren Cole place fourth (40:32) and Greta Meisel/Mady Pacola, seventh (43:22).

Harbor Springs was led by Stefi Reskovics/Mackenzie Bowman in third (39:11), Grace Hayhurst/Drew Bowman took fifth (42:31) and Fran Warren/Julia Clarke, sixth (42:53). East Jordan’s leaders were Avary Bearden and Elke Knauf in eighth (43:55).

For Charlevoix, Katie Rohrer/Maya Rohrer placed third (40:17) and Addy Wiers/Hannah Miller placed eighth (43:40). Boyne City was also led by Cambrie Giem/Delaney Little in fifth (40:45) and Chelsey Hertel/Bridget McHugh, 12th (45:50).

Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Charlevoix relays open area cross country season for many