LocalSportsJournal.com
It was what you might call a photo finish in the boys portion of the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association cross country meet.
The Whitehall Vikings edged the Fruitport Trojans by the narrowest of margins on Saturday, winning 63-64.
In the girls race, Mona Shores captured the title in a race that featured the fourth straight individual victory by Western Michigan Christian senior Abby Vanderkooi.
Reeths-Puffer had the top two finishers in the boys race with individual champion Klay Grant winning for the third straight year in 15:54.64 and teammate Jaxon Allen followed in 16:43.43.
On the strength of having three runners in the Top 10, the Vikings were able to win the title. Junior Carter McIlroy was third in 16:56.39, junior Andre Richmond was fifth in 17:05.02 and Riley Buys was seventh in 17:17.07.
Reeths-Puffer finished just three points behind Fruitport for third place with 67, followed by Mona Shores in fourth with 89. The remainder of the field in order of finish were North Muskegon, Western Michigan Christian, Oakridge, Montague, Muskegon Catholic, Ravenna, Orchard View and Muskegon.
Mona Shores junior Caleb Branch was fourth in 16:56.39 and sophomore Aidan Kreps finished sixth in 17:10.70. North Muskegon junior Jude Meldrum-Roy took eighth in 17:23.45, Fruitport sophomore Levi Glynn was ninth in 17:40.83 and sophomore Ethan Horan was 10th in 17:42.45.
On the girls’ side, Mona Shores topped Whitehall, 41-59 for first place. Western Michigan Christian came in third with 66 points, followed by Fruitport, Reeths-Puffer, Oakridge, Montague, Muskegon Catholic, Ravenna and Orchard View.
Western Michigan Christian senior Abby Vanderkooi
Vanderkooi, a nationally-ranked runner, completed the course in 18:35.56 and finished 1:40 ahead of the second-place runner. That was North Muskegon senior Gabriella Wingard in 20:15.75.
Mona Shores junior Robyn Hunt finished third in 20:33.40, followed by Whitehall senior Hayli Fagan in 20:41.44, Fruitport freshman Valerie Pollock in 20:45.37, North Muskegon junior Carolyn Bennett in 20:52.30 and Montague senior Isabelle Auch in 20:54.99.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Mona Shores junior Destiny Douglas in 20:57.08, her teammate, junior Cecilia Conrad, in 21:04.96 while Reeths-Puffer senior Grace Lockhart in 21:12.40.
