Cros-Lex's Eva Thompson and Yale's Blake Ferguson were named BWAC MVPs.
Blue Water Area Conference cross country teams gathered Tuesday at Croswell-Lexington High School to wrap up league competition for 2023. While the jamboree locations varied, the top finishers and teams stayed consistent. The Cros-Lex girls and Yale boys once again ran away with the team wins, which they had both done in each prior league match-up.
In the girls’ race, the Lady Pioneers were paced by junior Eva Thompson (undefeated in league running this season), who took a commanding lead from the gun and built it to over 20 seconds by midrace. She finished in a time of 19:40 and was named BWAC MVP. Her teammate Morgan Newton was right behind in second (20:04) and Brynn Hurley in fifth (20:40). Armada’s Ava Baltierra (third; 20:17) and Brooklyn Khon (fourth; 20:27) were the other two runners in the top five. Cros-Lex scored 29 points to runner-up Armada’s 46. Richmond placed third with Brianna Albers in sixth (21:25) and Pauline Chapman in eighth (21:50). Rowan Conley of North Branch (21:54) and Abagayle Barkley of Cros-Lex (21:56) rounded out the top ten places.
On the boys’ side, it was a fair bet someone from Yale would finish first, but which Bulldog would it be? For most of the race, it was the Yale trio of Gio Pardo-Keegan, Blake Ferguson, and Acer Campbell leading, with Julian Walker of Algonac hanging on the front pack and leaving a large 30-second gap to fifth place. Pardo-Keegan ended up narrowly taking the victory in a time of 17:03, with Ferguson right behind in 17:06, and Campbell third in 17:18. Ferguson was named MVP, having won the first two BWAC jamborees. Walker snagged fourth in 17:29, though he stated his goal was to be in the top three. He mentioned the course conditions made racing challenging, with lots of deep puddles and slippery mud. Teddy Rutkofske was fifth (18:02), Wyatt Murtos seventh (18:22), and Nolan Korolden ninth (18:43) to have six Bulldogs in the top ten. Elliot Whitney of Imlay City (sixth; 18:17), Luke Nawrocki of Armada (eighth; 18:24), and Wyatt Opperman of North Branch (10th; 18:44) were the other three to crack the top ten besides a Yale runner. Yale had an extremely low score of 18 points and took 12 of the 21 All-Conference spots.
Yale boys’ coach Jared Shutko and Cros-Lex girls’ coach Lisa Shaw were both named BWAC Coach of the Year. All BWAC senior cross country runners were honored as well.
FULL RESULTS: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/224270/info
Girls BWAC All-Conference XC
1 | Cros-Lex | Eva Thompson - MVP | 19:40 |
|---|---|---|---|
2 | Cros-Lex | Morgan Newton | 20:04 |
3 | Armada | Ava Baltierra | 20:17 |
4 | Armada | Brooklyn Khon | 20:27 |
5 | Cros-Lex | Brynn Hurley | 20:40 |
6 | Richmond | Brianna Albers | 21:25 |
7 | Armada | Samantha Kook | 21:31 |
8 | Richmond | Pauline Chapman | 21:50 |
9 | North Branch | Rowan Conley | 21:54 |
10 | Cros-Lex | Abagayle Barkley | 21:56 |
11 | Cros-Lex | Eliza Nelson | 21:59 |
12 | Algonac | Jasmine Walker | 22:00 |
13 | Almont | Laila Evola | 22:15 |
14 | North Branch | Isabelle Hunt | 22:23 |
15 Honorable Mention | Armada | Abigail Denoyer | 22:33 |
16 Honorable Mention | Imlay City | Charlotte O'Brien | 22:37 |
17 Honorable Mention | Armada | Addison Noteboom | 22:42 |
18 Honorable Mention | Armada | Breanna Feys | 22:49 |
19 Honorable Mention | Algonac | Kate Bennett | 23:02 |
20 Honorable Mention | Armada | Helena Reiff | 23:05 |
21 Honorable Mention | Almont | Ayla Deaurier | 23:13 |
Boys BWAC All-Conference XC
1 | Yale | Giovanni Pardo-Keegan | 17:03 |
2 | Yale | Blake Ferguson - MVP | 17:06 |
3 | Yale | Acer Campbell | 17:18 |
4 | Algonac | Julian Walker | 17:29 |
5 | Yale | Teddy Rutkofske | 18:02 |
6 | Imlay City | Elliot Whitney | 18:17 |
7 | Yale | Wyatt Murtos | 18:22 |
8 | Armada | Luke Nawrocki | 18:24 |
9 | Yale | Nolan Korolden | 18:43 |
10 | North Branch | Wyatt Opperman | 18:44 |
11 | Yale | Leo Bearss | 18:45 |
12 | Yale | Logan Rhodes | 18:47 |
13 | Algonac | Zach Witherspoon | 18:50 |
14 | Yale | Lucas Peltier | 18:51 |
15 Honorable Mention | Algonac | Owen Beindit | 18:51 |
16 Honorable Mention | Yale | John Zakrzewski | 18:51 |
17 Honorable Mention | Cros-Lex | Jack Kerrigan | 19:03 |
18 Honorable Mention | Yale | Braden Carless | 19:08 |
19 Honorable Mention | Yale | Jack Nicol | 19:21 |
20 Honorable Mention | North Branch | Bryce Barkowska | 19:31 |
21 Honorable Mention | Armada | Tyler Buckland | 19:32 |
