High School Roundup: Cheboygan girls cross country keeps rolling, Chiefs volleyball falls

RUDYARD – A fantastic week for the Cheboygan girls cross country team culminated with the Chiefs capturing first place at the Rudyard Autumn Classic on Saturday.

Sammy Harke (21:01) finished fourth individually while Briahna Campbell (21:30) and Cloee Rupp (21:37) earned fifth and sixth respectively for the Chiefs. Bella Hingston (eighth, 22:08), Addison Ptasnik (11^th, 22:39), Ella LaRocque (20^th, 24:05) and Nola Ecker (30^th, 25:57) also raced.

In the junior varsity race, Haley Blaskowski (seventh, 27:58) and Ava Hayden (ninth, 29:34) ran for the Chiefs. All Cheboygan girls runners, save for Harke and Hayden, had personal best times.

CHEBOYGAN YOUNGSTERS: Cheboygan girls cross country youngsters making impact, setting program up for bright future

SAC CHAMPS: Five top-15 finishers fuel Cheboygan girls to first Straits Area championship since 2008

For the Cheboygan boys, Carson Kiefer (18:04) finished 10^th, Russell Abernathy (18:10) was 12^th and Andrew Kiefer (18:43) recorded 17^th to lead the way. Gavin Smith (27^th, 19:24), Alex Hudson (33^rd, 20:32), Collin Mersch (40^th, 21:24) and Blake Blaskowski (42^nd, 21:38) rounded out the Chiefs.

In the JV race, Jose Castro III (21:55) was 10^th. Each Cheboygan boys runner registered a personal best time.

Meanwhile, Mackinaw City’s boys saw Kyle Valot (30^th, 20:01), Ben Strittmatter (31^st, 20:22), Trystan Swanson (35^th, 20:44) and Myran Thompson (36^th, 20:45) all competed.

Tanyon Pierce (13^th, 22:04), Wesley House (17^th, 23:29) and Connor Birchfield (19^th, 25:52) ran in the JV race.

For the Mackinaw City girls, Cynthia Thompson (30:50) was 11^th in the JV race.

Cheboygan volleyball falls to Ogemaw in five-set battle

WEST BRANCH – The Cheboygan volleyball team had a chance to close out Ogemaw Heights.

However, the Chiefs dropped their final two sets and suffered a 3-2 loss to the Falcons (25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 12-15) in a non-conference matchup in West Branch on Thursday, Oct. 12.

"The girls played a hard-fought five sets and it was heartbreaking to lose because they gave it their all against a team with seven seniors and the rest juniors,” said Cheboygan coach Darcie Mlynarchek. “Every match we have played, the team has improved every single time. I'm hoping this loss helps motivate the girls to push for wins through the last stretch of the season."

NEWBERRY RECAP: Cheboygan volleyball gets tested, but pulls away to beat Newberry in Straits Area clash

MIDDLE HITTERS: Ecker, Johnson setting the tone as middle hitters for Cheboygan volleyball

Makaela Steiner had 49 assists to lead the Chiefs (15-8-1), while Olivia Patrick led the team in digs with 31. Presley Chamberlain added 30 digs. Ava Bury recorded a team-high 16 kills and Amelia Johnson tallied 13.

Cheboygan hosts Manistique on Thursday, Oct. 19.

Furman, Wallace pace Inland Lakes at Ski Valley meet

MANCELONA – The Inland Lakes cross country team saw three runners earn spots on the All-Ski Valley Conference team after strong races in Mancelona on Wednesday, Oct. 11.

Leading the way for the Inland Lakes girls was freshman Elizabeth Furman, who clocked a 21:24 time and took fifth individually. The finish allowed her to make the Ski Valley first team.

For the boys, Connor Wallace (19:22) and Logan McMullen (19:30) used respective finishes of seventh and eighth place to secure nods on the second team.

Also racing for the I-L boys were Brayden McFall (16^th, 22:00), Derek Tucker (19^th, 24:26) and Remi Bollinger (24^th, 28:07). The Bulldogs (58 points) finished third as a team.

Paula Munoz (21^st, 27:05), Hanna Hinman (23^rd, 27:26), Ashley Murray (24^th, 27:33) and Francis Bunker (25th, 27:35) competed for the I-L girls (94), who took fourth.

JoBurg’s boys and girls both captured Ski Valley titles.

Mackinaw City boys finish second in last Northern Lakes meet

BOYNE FALLS – The Mackinaw City boys cross country team earned a runner-up finish in the final Northern Lakes Conference meet in Boyne Falls on Thursday, Oct. 12.

The Comets boys (12 points), who finished second behind Ellsworth, were led by Braylon Currie, who placed third and secured All-NLC first team honors with a 20:22 time. Kyle Valot (20:49) and Ben Strittmatter (21:21) also made the NLC first team by taking fourth and fifth respectively.

Myran Thompson (sixth, 21:30) and Tanyon Pierce (10^th, 22:44) each made the second team. Mikey Sullivan (13^th, 23:12), Wesley House (14^th, 24:22), Knox Wilson (15^th, 24:36) and Connor Birchfield (16^th, 24:47) also raced for Mackinaw City.

Cynthia Thompson (33:01) led the Mackinaw City girls by finishing fifth and earning NLC second team accolades.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan girls cross country team