Off and Running: Blue Water Area Cross Country Competition Begins
- Meran Miles
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
High school and collegiate cross country competition kicked into full swing across the Blue Water Area this week, and with the first few meets on the books, we also have our week one Top 30 XC Times lists back for the season (updated weekly on Sundays). Here’s a recap of each of the four meets attended by Blue Water Area athletes from August 20-21.
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Cros-Lex High School, Aug. 20, 2026
Photos courtesy of Yale/PHN XC.
The Mike Jackson Memorial Invitational is a great preview of the early season standings for many local teams. This year, seven schools from the Blue Water Area were in attendance, and after a summer of speculation, performances did not disappoint.
Boys
Cros-Lex’s Connor Pepin opened his senior season with a big statement, running his first sub-17 minute race in 16:48 to take second, over a minute improvement from the 18:03 he opened with last fall on his home course. That’s also faster than any time he ran last season and his overall PR by 16 seconds. Second on the area list to Josh Macri of MLN, this is building up the suspense to the first BWAC showdown.
Senior Grant Davis of Port Huron Northern was third in 16:57, close to his 2025 PR and a minute faster than his season debut as a junior. Caleb McBride, a fast freshman last year, builds upon that success as a returning veteran for Marysville: he was fourth in 17:00, his new PR in his first race back. Davis and McBride are 3-4 on the area top times list. Brady VanConant was the top finisher for Yale, taking fifth in 17:28, which sits him at #7 currently area-wide.
Marysville freshman Weston Rutallie kicked off his high school career with an eighth-place finish in 17:56, the fastest finish in the race by a ninth-grader and the top freshie on the area’s list. Yale freshman Noah Miller wasn’t far behind in 17:58, so depth through the scoring five for both teams looks to be pretty comparable.
Reilly Paulsen was the top finisher for Marine City (48th; 21:04), Elishah Butler was 71st in 23:40 for Kimball New Life Christian, and Logan Hall was 77th (24:49) for Port Huron High.
Girls
Saige Cole was the top area finisher in the girls’ race, taking fourth in 20:49; this puts her at number four in the Blue Water Area after the week’s racing. Last year she opened in 21:40, so that’s close to a full minute of improvement out of the gate.
Haley Sharp led the Port Huron Northern Huskies in 21:25 for seventh, while Madelyn Barkley was eighth in 21:40 for Cros-Lex. They are both seventh and eighth on the area times list, as well. Cros-Lex’s Eliza Thompson was the second runner for the Pioneers and clocked a 22:06 to take 12th, which was faster than her PR last season. Marysville’s top finisher was freshman Abby Dietzel in 22:49, taking 18th. Marine City was paced by Summer Knowles (26th; 23:57), while Port Huron High's Autumn Tasios was 64th in 28:29. Kiersten Zeller was 67th for Kimball New Life Christian (29:15).
Anchor Bay High School, Aug. 20, 2026
Boys
Now a sophomore, Gavin Bowers of Austin Catholic looks to build upon his state-qualifying success as a freshman in 2025, winning his season opener at Anchor Bay with a 17:24, not far off his PR of 17:02 last year. Anchor Bay’s Brandon Ziehmer was second on his home course in 17:40, putting him at number eight on the area top times list. Garrett Potts of MACH was third in 17:41, while Sebastian Azar was fourth in 18:01 for Anchor Bay: that puts them at 9-10 area-wide. Anchor Bay won the meet with 27 points. Chase McCarthy was the top finisher for Algonac in 21:14, finishing 16th.
Girls
Cassidy Bowers matched her brother’s efforts and also claimed an individual win in the girls’ race, running 20:47, her fastest season opener in three years of high school by several minutes. Anchor Bay’s Maddie Leslie ran onto the area’s top ten list by placing second behind Bowers in 21:44, also her fastest season opener by half a minute. The Lady Tars won the meet with 33 points.
Kadence Ager was the top finisher for Algonac, taking sixth in 23:48, while Lydia Potts led MACH with a 24:56 for 13th place.
Bad Axe High School, Aug. 21, 2026
The Hatchet Under the Lights Classic in Bad Axe was run after sunset; the varsity races began at 9:30 p.m. Levi Fitchett opened up his junior season for Dryden with a third-place finish in 17:51, while sophomore Charlie Fields of North Branch was fourth in 18:01, almost a minute faster than his freshman debut last year. Almont’s Benjamin Kline was the top runner for the Raiders, rounding out the top ten finishers in 19:16.
With three in the top five, the Armada girls won the team trophy at the Hatchet Classic, led by freshman Layla Tedder, who started her cross country career out in style with an individual win in 20:58. Claire Wright was third in 21:56 for Dryden, while Armada’s Kamille Fitzpatrick (4th: 22:01) and Claire Albrecht (5th: 22:01) rounded out the top five medalists. Samantha Osborne was North Branch’s top girl in 20th (24:18).
Ford Field, Livonia, Aug. 21, 2026
At another late-night under the lights run, Macomb Lutheran North’s Josh Macri kicked off a repeat of his reign all last year at the top of the area times list, cranking out a 16:31 to take 11th place in the varsity flight two race. St. Clair’s Ethan Kreger sits at number five area-wide with his seventh-place finish in 17:16 in the varsity flight one race, close to a thirty-second improvement over his season opener there last year. Eliot Alef (MLN) rounds out the top ten area times with a 17:44 at Lamplighter, over a minute faster than he ran at the start of 2025.
Samantha Whitlam (19:52) and Chloe Boright (20:40) currently sit at the top of the area times list after their performances at the Lamplighter Invitational: Whitlam was 30th and Boright 59th, respectively. Lucy Gump ran 21:20 to take 88th and is currently sixth on the area list, giving MLN three girls in the top ten.
New Haven’s Emma Reimer ran 22:07, while St. Clair’s Rose Hill (22:22) and Stella Bishop (22:26) were the top finishers for the Saints at Lamplighter. Official team results were not scored for the Lamplighter Invitational.
Blue Water Area Top 30 Times - 2026 (updated weekly on Sundays).
Goodells Park, Aug. 20, 2026
The season-opening meet for the St. Clair County Community College (SC4) men's and women's cross country squads was a successful one, as both teams claimed overall victory on Thursday at Goodells County Park in Goodells, Mich. The women's squad won the 5K race (28 points), while the men followed with a triumph in the four-mile meet (21 points). The races at the park featured a new course layout from previous seasons, which was a unique twist to this year's meet.
On the women's side, SC4 prevailed over Mott Community College (35 points), Kellogg Community College (67 points), and Kirtland Community College (88 points) in the team standings for those that had enough runners to qualify. Meanwhile, the Skippers' men outlasted Kellogg (38 points) and Wayne County Community College (84 points).
Individually, a pair of Skippers went home with the overall winning honors. Freshmen Samantha Langolf (Port Huron, Mich. / Port Huron Northern), with a time of 19:39.2, and Tyler Leach (Otisville, Mich. / Lakeville Memorial), with a time of 21:56.2, were the two winners on Thursday in their collegiate debuts.
WOMEN'S RACE
In addition to Langolf, the other five Skippers all raced in their first collegiate cross country meet. Coming home runner-up was sophomore Lillian Rutallie (Marysville, Mich. / Marysville) with a time of 20:07.2, while freshman Makenna Gwisdalla (Bad Axe, Mich. / Bad Axe) was sixth at a time of 22:05.4. Right behind her was freshman Lydia McBride (Marysville, Mich. / Marysville) in seventh (22:21.4).
Freshman Madison Prowse (Brown City, Mich. / Brown City) crossed the finish line in 13th with a mark of 23:58.3, with freshman Gracie Sparrer (Brown City, Mich. / Brown City) rounding out the SC4 contingent with a 24th-place effort (30:39.7) in the field of 32 that showed up.
"I am very happy with how the girls ran," said Head Coach Andrea Rheaume. "They posted great beginning-of-the-season times, and taking first place as a team is always something to celebrate."
MEN'S RACE
Including Leach, six of the eight Skippers on the men's team finished top-10 in the field of 34. Joining Leach on the podium was sophomore Evan Jacobs (Cottrellville, Mich. / Cardinal Mooney Catholic) in third with a time of 23:05.1. Another newcomer, freshman Nolan Korolden (Yale, Mich. / Yale), opened his collegiate career with a fourth-place showing (23:09.7).
SC4 also had student-athletes in sixth, seventh, and ninth. They were sophomore Gerald (Jerry) Westrick (St. Clair, Mich. / St. Clair) with a time of 23:36.7, sophomore Wyatt Murtos (Yale, Mich. / Yale) with a mark of 23:49.6, and sophomore Korbyn Thornton (St. Clair, Mich. / St. Clair) with a time of 23:58.1, respectively.
Sophomore Sawyer Rosberg (Richmond, Mich. / Richmond) came home in 14th (25:21.2), while freshman Matthew Litwiller (Davison, Mich. / Davison), also in his collegiate debut, placed 16th (26:10.8).
While this article is unlocked, season articles moving forward will require a subscription. Subscription fees are necessary to cover rising website and podcast site costs. Blue Water Running does not profit from subscription fees; they simply pay the bills. An unlimited subscription is only $5 a month (less than a fancy coffee), or a discounted price of $50 a year. Please consider subscribing to Blue Water Running to help support local coverage of cross country and track and field. Advertising sponsorships are also available. Thank you for your support!
