ELY- The Ely boys raced to the team title while the girls placed third in a strong showing at the Paul Bauer Cross Country Invitational in Grand Rapids on Tuesday.
The boys placed all five of their scoring runners among the top 22 and finished with 47 points, well ahead of Duluth East and Stella Maris Academy, which tied with 69.
Juniors Wyatt Devine and Blake Houde led the way with nearly identical finishes. Devine placed fourth in 17:09.7, with Houde crossing one-tenth of a second later in fifth at 17:09.8.
Senior Oliver Hohenstein finished eighth in 18:03.5, followed by senior Aksel Skustad in 11th at 18:31.9. Sophomore Grady Anderson rounded out Ely’s scoring five, placing 22nd in 19:05.3.
The Ely girls finished with 66 points, just three behind runner-up Grand Rapids. Duluth East won the team competition with 53 points.
Senior Molly Brophy paced the Wolves with an eighth-place finish in 21:02.1. Junior Mattie Lindsay placed 13th in 21:39.6, and senior Isabella Macho finished 22nd in 22:22.3.
Sophomores Payson Kundinger and Katy Brophy completed Ely’s scoring group. Kundinger placed 29th with a personal-best time of 22:50.4, while Brophy finished 32nd in 22:59.4.