By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
PORTAGE—The Saugatuck boys cross country team entered the Portage Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 7, ranked third in Division 4 behind Hillsdale Academy and Johannesburg-Lewiston.
And that turned out to be the exact order of finish, as the Trailblazers finished with 140 points to take third place. Hillsdale Academy and J-L amassed 86 and 114 points, respectively.
In all, eight of the top-10 boys teams in Division 4 competed.
The Saugatuck girls, meanwhile, placed ninth with 242 points in a field that included seven of the top-10 teams.
“Overall, I’m just really happy with the way the boys competed,” Saugatuck boys coach Rick Bauer said. “I really don’t know if I could have asked for more.
“Of course, I was hoping to be able to slip past Johannesburg. But that’s a really good team. And we should have a chance to see them again at the State Finals.”
As he’s done most of the season, freshman Sawyer Monroe led the way for Saugatuck, placing 18th at 17:06.
“Sawyer is just a beast,” Bauer said. “He’s such a competitive kid. And he still isn’t as physically developed as some of the other guys, so he still has a lot of room for improvement. He was a little bummed that he didn’t break 17:00, but that will happen soon enough.”
Sophomore Sammy Gamboa was next, placing 23rd at 17:17.
Freshman Marcus Silva (29th at 17:36), sophomore Brennan Nor (43rd at 17:56) and freshman Grant Rehkopf (47th at 18:01) rounded out Saugatuck’s scoring runners. All of them received medals by virtue of placing in the top 50.
“All of the guys ran really, really well,” Bauer said. “Marcus and Grant continue to get better each race, and Brennan is doing a great job for us as he’s dealt with some injuries this season.”
The freshmen duo of Lyvia Curtis and Kamryn Sixberry continue to lead the charge for the Saugatuck girls. Curtis was 19th at 20:22 and Sixberry was 35th at 21:09 to secure medals.
Also scoring were juniors Leilani Schoonmaker (51st at 21:37), Alayah Nieuwsma (65th at 22:27) and Meryn Curtis (104th at 24:07).
“I thought the girls did a good job, too,” Bauer said.
The Trailblazers were without the services of one of their top runners as Anna McQueary, the team’s lone senior, was attending a family function.