Regionals 2023 is in the books. 15 teams participated, and Traverse City Saint Francis won the boys and girls's race, with 27 and 31 points, respectively. Elk Rapids was 2nd, with 36 points, and Clare was 3rd in the girls race with 106 points. Clare was 2nd, 69 points, and Charlevoix 3rd, 96 points, in the boys race. Those teams advance to the state finals. Betsy Skendzel of TCSF won the girls race in 17:52.9, and Brad White of Clare won the boys race in 15:31.7.

Myah Little led the ladies, finishing in 24th place with a season record of 20:57.56. Her PR is 20:57.5, so she only missed it by a few hundredths of a second. Courtney Borden was 46th in 22:55, a PR, Anna Martin was 53rd, 23:18, Kara Olds was 54th with a 23:25 PR, Keria Curneal ran 23:37 for 57th, a season record, Ava Ivkovich ran a SR of 24:06, for 58th, and Abby Minion ran 24:47 for 63rd. There were 87 runners in the girls race, and Kalkaska placed 8th of 15 teams.

The boys finished fourth, a point behind Charlevoix. Gavin Guggemos finished 4th in the region in 16:08, a new PR. Camden Moore ran a PR, and broke 17 minutes for the first time, running 16:59 and placing 15th. Adam Williams ran a PR of 17:03 and placed 17th. Jackson Shetler was 30th, with a new PR of 17:56, Coltrane Paryani was 31st with a PR of 17:57, Tripp Wagner was 40th with a PR of 18:46, and Ephraim Conway finished 55th, 19:17. There were 96 runners in the boys race.

Congratulations to Gavin, Cam, and Adam, who will advance to the State Finals next week in Brooklyn at Michigan International Speedway. Great job to the rest of our runners! You ran great at the end of the season when you needed to most. Very proud of your efforts this season.

The high school teams raced at the Northern Michigan Cross Country Championship on Saturday, October 21 in Gaylord. Schools were divided into two divisions, large school for Division 1 and 2 schools, and small school for Division 3 and 4. Kalkaska was in the small school races. Top 25 in each varsity race earned a medal, and the winner of each division took home a trophy.

Brynne Schulte of Elk Rapids won the girls small school race with a time of 19:50. The ER team placed first with 23 points. Kalkaska girls placed second with 47 points, 8 points ahead of North Trails who finished third. Myah Little led the Blazers, placing 7th in 20:58.6, just over a second away from her personal record of 20:57.5. Anna Martin placed 13th in 22:17, Courtney Borden was 20th, 23:49, Kara Olds placed 23rd in 24:33, even after losing her shoes about a mile and a half into the race. Ava Ivkovich ran a new season record, placing 28th in 24:55.6, Abby Minion was 31st in 25:34, and Keria Curneal was 32nd in 25:40. Due to a seven runner limit in the varsity race, Jenna Rabourn ran in the JV race, finishing 35th in 28:38, just 28 seconds behind the PR she set in East Jordan last week, and on a hillier course. Great end to the season Jenna!

The Blazer boys won their small school division race with 46 points, 4 points ahead of North Trails, and 20 ahead of Elk Rapids who placed third. Logan Detloff and Trent Taratata of North Trail, a homeschool team, were first and second in the race, running 16:43 and 16:44. Gavin Guggemos led the Blazers, placing third in 16:57. Adam Williams was 6th in 17:50, Camden Moore was 8th in 17:59, and Jackson Shetler set a new PR, finishing 15th in 18:27. Coltrane Paryani ws 16th in 18:30, Tripp Wagner was 28th in 19:27, and Ephraim Conway was 30th in 19:31. Four Blazers competed in the JV race. Cade Ponstein ran 21:58 for 39th place, Dylan Hunt was 41st in 22:21, Issaic Fischer was 46th in 23:05, a new PR, and Mason Doehring finished his season in 54th, running 25:42.

The Blazers will run again next week, on Saturday,

The middle school teams finished their season at the Middle School Regional Zone 7 race at Veterans Park in Cadillac. The overall final results were not in at the time of publication, because runners still need to be divided into smaller groups, but 229 runners finished the race. Eliza Schwss of OJ DeJonge won the race in 11:47. Izzy Wegener led the Blazers, taking 26th in 13:24. Aaliyah Hillier was 39th, 13:40, Kylee Jenkins was 75th, 14:39, Payton Bonofiglio was 86th, with a PR of 14:58, Brynn Foerster was 105th, 15:19, a PR, Andrea Banken was 171st, 17:18, a PR, Aila Stayla was 19th, 18:08, and Violet Susinko was 227th in 24:14.

Johnathan Elsea of West Intermediate, Mt. Pleasant won the boys race of 241 runners in 10:59. Owen McGlone led the Kalkaska runners, taking 27th in 12:16. Kaden Fischer was 55th, 12:54, Kellen TenHopen was 79th, 13:20, a PR, Griffin Anderson was 129th, 14:28, Joe Morris was 131, 14:30, Asher guggemos was 139th, 14:41, Seth Storm was 154th, 14:58, Owen Shetler was 164th, 15:14, James Martin was 186th, 15:56, Afton Staley was 199th, 16:37, a PR, William Morris was 224th, 18:18, Brandon Martin was 227th, 18:57, a PR, and Audric Butler was 237th, 22:37.

This has been an amazing season for Kalkaska Middle School. Congratulations to Coach King and all of the middle school runners!

Here are also some pictures from Senior Night! Thanks to our Seniors for all your hard work, and to your families for years of support.

The Blazers went all out on Saturday, October 14th at the Party in the Park Invitational in East Jordan. The weather was fair and the course was flat, resulting in some excellent times.

Allie Nowak of Johannesburg-Lewiston won the girls race in 19:16. Elk Rapids won the girls race and Kalkaska placed third, behind Boyne City. Myah Little led the Blazers with an 11th place finish, and a new season record of 21:27. Anna Martin was 17th, 22:16, Courtney Borden was 21st, 23:10, Keira Cuneal was 22nd with a SR of 23:48, and Kara Olds was our fifth runner, finishing 26th, with a SR 24:07. Abby Minion dropped a bunch of time and finished 28th in 24:45, Ava Ivkovich was 31st, 25:27, and Kylee Reust placed 36th with a SR of 26:46. Jenna Rabourn set a new Personal Record of 28:10, placing 42nd, and Angela Rodriguez set a PR of 31:34, after dropping over two minutes of time. She was 46th of 49 runners.

Gavin Guggemos won the boys race with a time of 16:25. The boys won the meet and brought home a nice plaque. Camden Moore set a new PR of 17:15, placing 3rd, Adam Williams was 6th, 17:33, Coltrane Paryani was 9th with a PR of 17:59, and Jackson Shetler set a PR of 18:33, placing 12th. Ephraim Conway was 19th with a PR of 19:17, Tripp Wagner was 20th, with a PR of 19:22, Cade Ponstein was 29th with a PR of 21:43, Dylan Hunt was 32nd with a SR of 21:53, Issaic Fischer set a PR of 23:33 for 37th, and Mason Doehring dropped over two minutes to finish 39th of 43 runners with a PR of 24:24.

The middle school girls won their race. Aaliyah Hillier won overall with a PR of 13:38. Izzy Wegner was 2nd with a PR of 13:40, Kylee Jenkins was 5th, 14:17, Brynn Foerstner was 7th with a PR of 14:53, Payton Bonofiglio was 8th with a PR of 15:08, Andrea Banken was 17th with a PR of 17:52.0, Sophia Garcia was 18th, with a PR of 17:52.9, and Violet Susinko was 24th of 26 runners with a PR of 21:40.

Owen McGlone won the boys race in 11:51. The boys won taking 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 8th, and 10th places. Alex Lopez ran 12:58.0, Kaden Fischer ran 12:58.8, Kellen TenHopen, ran 13:42, and Griffin Anderson ran 13:55. All of those were PRs, and PRs were also set by Joe Morris, 15th, 14:20, Asher Guggemos, 17th, 14:25, Owen Shetler, 19th, 14:33, James Martin, 20th, 14:45, Seth Storm, 21st, 14:53, Will Morris, 27th, 18:16, Brandon Martin, 28th, 18:49, and Brayden Vanderloop, 32nd, 22:45, dropping over three minutes. Thomas Anderson was 35th in 26:38.

Amazing work on Homecoming week! The Blazers will race again next Saturday in Gaylord.

Gavin Guggemos is the last Lake Michigan Conference Champion!

Congratulations to Gavin who placed first in the Lake Michigan Conference meet on Tuesday, October 10th in Harbor Springs. The course was soggy, but the rain held off for the races. Guggemos finished in 16:33.6, and the boys team finished 3rd overall, which is a strong finish for the Blazers. Traverse City St Francis won the meet, and Charlevoix was 2nd, ahead of the Blazers by 4 points.

Betsy Skendzel won the girl's race in 18:49.2, leading Traverse City St. Francis to a first place victory. The Blazers finished 7th of the 8 teams attending. Myah Little led the Blazers, placing 33rd in 22:50, Anna Martin was 46th, 23:49. Kara Olds filled the 3rd runner spot for the first time this year, running 24:14, finishing 51st. Courtney Borden was 52nd, 24:19, and Keira Curneal was 56th, 24:56, to round out the scoring five. Abby Minion was 62nd with a new PR of 26:13, Ava Ivkovich was 64th, 26:24, Kylee Reust was 67th, 27:10, Jenna Rabourn was 75th with a new season record of 29:40, and Angela Rodriguze finished 81st in 34:07, just a few seconds away from a new PR.

Guggemos earned All Conference Honors and led the Blazer team of Adam Williams, who placed 12th in 17:33 and earned All Conference Honorable Mention, Camden Moore who placed 15th, 17:38, and was on the team with Guggemos the last time Kalkaska placed 3rd in 2021 (which is pretty darn good for us), Coltrane Paryani, 32nd, 18:47, and Jackson Shetler, 43rd, 19:23. Tripp Wagner placed 50th, 20:03, Ephraim Conway was 58th, 21:07, Cade Ponstein was 70th, 23:25, Dylan Hunt was 72nd, 23:34, and Issaic Fisher was 77th, 25:25.

The middle school girls placed 3rd in their race. Hailee Bertels of Boyne City won the race in 13:29, and S.E.A.S. was the number one team. Aaliyah Hillier was 3rd in 13:48, and also scoring for the Blazers were Izzy Wegener in 7th, 14:04, Kylee Jenkins, 11th in 14:50, Payton Bonofiglio, 20th in 16:03, and Aila Stayla in 32nd, with a PR of 17:46. Andrea Banken set a new PR of 17:52, and Violet Susinko ran 21:45.

The Kalkaska boys were 2nd, behind Harbor Springs. Grant Corlew of Harbor Springs won the race in 11:28. Owen McGlone led the Blazer boys in the middle school race, placing 3rd, in 11:38. Kaden Fischer was 11th in 12:53, Alex Lopez was 16th, 13:31, Kellen TenHopen was 21st in 13:49, and Griffin Anderson was 25th in 14:13 to fill out the scoring positions. New PRs were set by Seth Storm, 14:13, Owen Shetler, 15:00, and Brandon Martin, 19:45. Joe Morris finished in 14:33, Asher Guggemos was 14:57, James Martin ran 15:36, Afton Staley ran 17:43, Will Morris was 20:00, Thomas Anderson ran 26:22, and Brayden Vanderloop finished in 26:46.

Great job Blazers! The teams will race again on Saturday in East Jordan.

The Blazers ran at the Shepherd Bluejay Invitational on Saturday, September 30. The meet was simply huge, with races running from 8 am to about 4:30 pm and over 100 teams participating. Schools were divided into divisions, and Kalkaska was in Gold Division with almost 30 other schools. Traverse City St. Francis won the boys and girls races in the Gold Division. Kyah Hoffman of Stanton Central Montcalm won the girls race of 162 runners in 17:56, and August Rhode of Reed City won the boys race of 164 runners in 15:40. The fastest runners overall in all divisions were Jessica Jazwinski of Hart who ran a 17:08 and TJ Hansen of Freeland who ran a 14:46.

The Blazers ran very well. Myah Little led the ladies, placing 47th in 21:42, a season record. Anna Martin was 62nd with a new personal record of 22:05, Courtney Borden was 98th with a PR of 23:06, Kara Olds was 114th with a season record of 24:11, and Keira Curneal was 117th in 24:16. These five scored to place 16th of 22 scoring teams in the Gold division, with 6 additional teams running fewer than 5 runners. Abby Minion placed 134th in 26:21, and Kylee Reust placed 138th with a season record of 26:47. Jenna Rabourn ran in the JV race and set a season record of 29:46.

Gavin Guggemos led the boys team, placing 14th and setting a new PR of 16:20. Adam Williams was 52nd in 17:25, Camden Moore was 61st in 17:37, Coltrane Paryani was 95th with a new PR of 18:14, Jackson Shetler was 117th with a new PR of 19:01, Tripp Wagner was 126th, with a PR of 19:25, and Ephraim Conway was 131, with a PR of 19:36. The boys placed 12 of 22 scoring teams, with 7 additional teams running fewer than 5 runners. Issaic Fischer ran in the JV race and set a new PR of 24:09.

The middle school teams ran well too. Aaliyah Hillier ran a PR of 13:20, which places her at the top of the list of 2 mile middle school times recorded on Athletic.net for Kalkaska Middle School, and Izzy Wegener took the 2nd place spot on that list with a PR of 13:23. Owen McGlone set a new PR and 2 mile school record, running 11:22. Other middle school runners to PR included Payton Bonofiglio, 15:15, Brynn Foerster, 15:53, Aila Staley, 18:25, Kaden Fischer, 12:32, Alex Lopez, 12:54, Kellen TenHopen, 13:48, Joe Morris, 14:30, Asher Guggemos, 14:34, Owen Shetler, 15:23, Afton Staley, 17:24, and Will Morris, 17:26, and Kylee Jenkins ran a season best time of 14:10.

Excellent day. Thank you to all who could transport students and who came to cheer us on. The Blazers will race again on Wednesday, October 4th in Mancelona.

The Blazers ran at the Shepherd Bluejay Invitational on Saturday, September 30. The meet was simply huge, with races running from 8 am to about 4:30 pm and over 100 teams participating. Schools were divided into divisions, and Kalkaska was in Gold Division with almost 30 other schools. Traverse City St. Francis won the boys and girls races in the Gold Division. Kyah Hoffman of Stanton Central Montcalm won the girls race of 162 runners in 17:56, and August Rhode of Reed City won the boys race of 164 runners in 15:40. The fastest runners overall in all divisions were Jessica Jazwinski of Hart who ran a 17:08 and TJ Hansen of Freeland who ran a 14:46.

The Blazers ran very well. Myah Little led the ladies, placing 47th in 21:42, a season record. Anna Martin was 62nd with a new personal record of 22:05, Courtney Borden was 98th with a PR of 23:06, Kara Olds was 114th with a season record of 24:11, and Keira Curneal was 117th in 24:16. These five scored to place 16th of 22 scoring teams in the Gold division, with 6 additional teams running fewer than 5 runners. Abby Minion placed 134th in 26:21, and Kylee Reust placed 138th with a season record of 26:47. Jenna Rabourn ran in the JV race and set a season record of 29:46.

Gavin Guggemos led the boys team, placing 14th and setting a new PR of 16:20. Adam Williams was 52nd in 17:25, Camden Moore was 61st in 17:37, Coltrane Paryani was 95th with a new PR of 18:14, Jackson Shetler was 117th with a new PR of 19:01, Tripp Wagner was 126th, with a PR of 19:25, and Ephraim Conway was 131, with a PR of 19:36. The boys placed 12 of 22 scoring teams, with 7 additional teams running fewer than 5 runners. Issaic Fischer ran in the JV race and set a new PR of 24:09.

The middle school teams ran well too. Aaliyah Hillier ran a PR of 13:20, which places her at the top of the list of 2 mile middle school times recorded on Athletic.net for Kalkaska Middle School, and Izzy Wegener took the 2nd place spot on that list with a PR of 13:23. Owen McGlone set a new PR and 2 mile school record, running 11:22. Other middle school runners to PR included Payton Bonofiglio, 15:15, Brynn Foerster, 15:53, Aila Staley, 18:25, Kaden Fischer, 12:32, Alex Lopez, 12:54, Kellen TenHopen, 13:48, Joe Morris, 14:30, Asher Guggemos, 14:34, Owen Shetler, 15:23, Afton Staley, 17:24, and Will Morris, 17:26, and Kylee Jenkins ran a season best time of 14:10.

Excellent day. Thank you to all who could transport students and who came to cheer us on. The Blazers will race again on Wednesday, October 4th in Mancelona.

The Blazer cross country teams raced at the Petoskey Invitational on Saturday, September 24 with hills and a bit of heat. The attending teams were divided into 3 divisions based on school size and Kalkaska was in division III, which included 7 teams. 

Emily Anger of Mancelona won the girl's Division 3 race in 21:28. The fastest time overall was posted by Jane Manthei of Petoskey St. Michael, who ran 20:00. There were 45 runners in Division III, and 5 teams scored. The Blazers scored 3rd after Charlevoix and Boyne City, and beat out Tawas by one point. Anna Martin led the Blazers taking 8th place in 24:09. Myah Little was 13th, 24:27, Courtney Borden was 16th, 24:38, Keira Curneal was 19th, 25:03, and Kara Olds was 27th, 26:02, making up Kalkaska's top 5. Abby Minion was 31st, 27:22, Kylee Reust was 38th, 29:48, and Jenna Rabourn was 43rd, 33:01. Angela Rodriguez twisted her ankle in the first mile, but we're hoping she heals up for Shepherd. 

Gavin Guggemos won the boys Division 3 race in 17:07, and was 4th of all runners. The fastest time was posted by Shane Izzard of Petoskey who ran a 16:55. The boys finished 2nd in Division 3 behind Charlevoix.There were 46 runners in our division, and 6 teams scored. Several of our soccer players were missing for a game, so this was a nice achievement since we were not at full force. Camden Moore was 6th, 18:34, Coltrane Paryani was 9th, 18:49, Jackson Shetler was 15th, with a new personal record of 19;49, and Zander Griffore was 35th, 24:00, to round out Kalkaska's top five. Mason Doehring placed 44th in 28:28. 

Aaliyah Hillier was our first girl in the 7th/8th grade race, placing 4th in 14:03, a new PR. The 7th/8th grade boys were led by Owen McGlone who ran 11:55 and placed 4th. Kaden Fisher was 14th in 13:28, Alex Lopez was 25th in 14:11, Kellen TenHopen was 30th in 14:32, and Seth Storm was 36th in 15:02, which was a PR. The boys were 4th of 6 scoring teams. 

Full results for the Petoskey Invitational can be found at Petoskey Invitational ANet. The high school will race again on Saturday, September 30th in Shepherd. The middle school will race Wednesday, September 27th in Mancelona, and will also attend the Shepherd meet on the 30th. 

The cross country teams ran at home at the Kalkaska Invitational on Tuesday, September 19 at Twin Birch Golf Club. Allie Nowak of Johannesburg-Lewiston took first in the girl's race with a time of 19:29. The Elk Rapids girls team won the meet. Jeremiah Witt of Johannesburg-Lewiston led his team to victory in the boys race. Witt took first with a time of 16:42

The girls team placed 3rd overall. There were 78 runners, and 10 scoring teams. Myah Little was first Blazer in taking 11th place in 22:11. Courtney Borden in 21st, 23:32, Keria Curneal in 22nd, 23:49, a season record, Anna Martin in 29th, 24:34.6, and Kara Olds in 31st, 24:54, scored for the Blazers. Abby Minion set a new personal record of 26:12, taking 42nd place. Ava Ivkovich was 48th, 27:21, Kylee Reust was 55th, 28:32, Jenna Rabourn was 65th, 32:33, and newcomer from Spain, Angela Rodriguez was 70th, 35:23. 

The boys team also placed 3rd overall. There were 63 runners and 7 teams scored. Gavin Guggemos led the Blazer boys taking 2nd place in 16:47. Adam Williams in 7th, 18:02, Camden Moore in 13th, 18:26, Coltrane Paryani in 16th, 18:48, and Tripp Wagner in 23rd, 19:52, scored for the Blazers. Ephreim Conway was 33rd in 20:27, a new PR. Gabe Buyze-Prieto was 38th, 21:07, Issaic Fischer was 60th, 25:44, and Mason Doehring was 63rd, 27:16. 

Both middle school teams finished in 2nd Place and brought home some trophies. Benzie won the girl's race and Grayling won the boy's. Avery Kelly of Benzie took first for the girls in 12:41. Owen Lewicki of Grayling won the boy's race in 11:45. 

Aalijah Hillier, Kylie Jenkins, Izzy Wegener, Brynn Foerster, and Payton Bonofiglio scored for the girls, placing 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 16th, and 17th, and Owen McGlone, Kaden Fischer, Alex Lopez, Griffin Anderson, and Kennen TenHopen scored for the boy's team after taking 2nd, 8th, 13th, 21st, and 22nd places. 

On a side note, in a competition between Elk Rapids and Kalkaska going back to 2019, the two teams faced off for the Maplehurst Trophies. The Elk's high school boys and girls captured two of these wooden monstrosities. The Blazer boy and girl middle school teams would have won two for themselves, but the middle school trophies were thrown out. So, we'll just have to make some new ones!

Our elementary runners were out in force. Great to see so many younger kids running. They are the future of the program. Thanks for participating, you're doing amazing!

Thank you to Twin Birch Golf Club for letting us use miles of their beautiful course, and to the cheer team and soccer team, who came out to support us. Also, thank you to the Senior parents for selling goodies.  Thanks to those who took photos, and to the scores of people who supported our amazing Blazer runners, from 12th grade to 4th grade and anyone who ran the open race. 

The Blazers race again Saturday in Petoskey!

The Blazers raced in the Roscommon Invitational on Wednesday, September 13th, against 7 other teams. The girls and boys high school teams and the boys middle school teams took first overall, and the girls middle school team finished second place. Isabelle Eppert of Farwell won the varsity girls race

Myah Little led the girl's race placing 3rd overall in just over 22 minutes. Anna Martin was 6th, Keria Curneal was 8th, Courtney Borden was 9th, and Ava Ivkovich was 12th. The team scored 24 points. Kara Olds was 16th, Kylee Reust 24th, Abby Minion 25th, Sara Bissonette 26th, and Jenna Rabourn 34th. Curneal, Ivkovich, and Kylee Reust ran season bests, and Abby Minion set a new personal record. 

Gavin Guggemos won the boys race in 17 minutes. Adam Williams was 2nd, Camden Moore 4th , Coltrane Paryani 6th, and Tripp Wagner 12th. The boys scored 17 points.  Jackson Shetler was 16th, Gabe Buyze-Prieto 20th,  Ephraim Conway was 21st, setting a new PR, Zander Griffore was 24th, Dylan Hunt was 30th, Issaic Fischer 33rd, and Mason Doehring was 34th. 

The middle school girls finished behind Cadillac 20-37. Ruth Hanson of Cadillac won that race. Aaliyah Hiller led the Blazer girls, finishing 3rd. Isabella Wegner was 6th, Kylee Jenkins was 7th, Payton Bonofiglio was 11th, and Sophia Garcia was 21st, making up the top 5 for Kalkaska. 

Owen McGlowen and Kaden Fischer finished 1st and 2nd for the middle school boys. Alex Lopez was 8th, Kellan TenHopen was 10th and Griffin Anderson was 13th. The boys scored 23 points. 

We are still waiting for some times to be entered, but the kids ran well and we look forward to seeing them race again at the Kalkaska Invitational on Tuesday, September 19th. 

The Blazer cross country teams raced the Charlevoix Mud Run on Saturday, September 9. The mud was pretty good this year, and lots of runners had fun taking a dive in the second water hazard. 119 ran in the women's race, and 97 ran in the men's. Schools were divided into large and small school divisions for scoring, with the Blazers in large. Katie Berkshie of Gaylord won the girl's race in 18:45. Gavin Guggemos of Kalkaska won the boy's race in 17:34. 

The girls finished 6th of 8 scoring large schools, with White Lake Lakeland taking first. Myah Little was the first Blazer and ran a season best of 21:57, finishing 9th. The remaining top five included Anna Martin in 27th, 23:35, Courtney Borden in 36th, 24:24, Kara Olds in 51st, 25:13, and Keria Curneal in 56th, 25:36. Ava Ivkovic was 63rd, 27:34, Abby Minion was 66th with a new personal record of 28:19, Sara Bissonette was 67th in her first race after coming off of a foot injury, 28:48, Kylee Reust was 69th, 29:10, and Jenna Rabourn was 77th, 32:12. 

The boys team finished 2nd behind Charlevoix. The top five Blazers included Guggemos, Camden Moore in 4th, 18:07, Adam Williams in 8th, 18:38, Coltrane Paryani in 9th, 18:50.9, and Jackson Shetler in 30th, 20:56. Ephraim Conway was 36th, 21:13, Dylan Hunt was 50th with a new season record of 22:56, Cade Ponstein was 53rd, 23:08, and Mason Doehring was 68th, with a new personal record of 26:39. 

The top 20 9/10th graders and top 20 11/12th graders earned medals made of wood. Guggemos, Moore, Williams, Paryani, and Little each took a woodle home. 

The Blazers will be in action again on Wednesday, September 13, when they race in Roscommon on a course we have not seen for a few seasons. Thanks to our parents and spectators for your support. The middle school and elementary school students also raced in mass today. Great to see the younger Blazers out there working so hard. Results for the 7/8th grade races and the 5/6th grade and open race can be found at Athletic.net Charlevoix Mud Run. If you know your 5th-8th athlete's place you can find their time.

The cross country teams ran at the Dwayne Rau Memorial Invitational in Ogemaw Heights on Thrusday, August 31, 2023. The schools were divided into 4 divisions based on school size, with the Blazers racing in the O'Connor division. You must have five runners to score a team, and if teams tie, you compare the finishing place of each team's sixth runner. The team with the sixth runner across the finish line first wins. 

The courses had some hills, and the day was warm. There was a significant climb in mile two, then athletes ran about 300 meters on the track before attacking mile three. Personal bests were hard to come by, but this was a day where you just had to race. 

The girl's had 153 runners finish, and the boy's race had 207.  The O'Connor division had 50 girls and 64 boys competing. 

Katie Berkshire of Gaylord won the girl's race in 19:29 and the winner of the boy's was Caleb Palmreuter of Gladwin in 16:40. 

The girls won the O'Connor division with 41 points. Lake City and Tawas were in second and third place. 

Myah Little was first of 50 in this division, and 15th overall with a time of 23:09. Anna Martin was 2nd, 24:28, Courtney Borden was 7th, 25:24, Keria Curneal was 12th, 26:00, and Kara Olds was 20th, 27:23 to complete Kalkaska's top 5. Ava Ivkovich was 26th, 29:28, Kylee Reust was 29th, 29:41, Abby Minion was 30th, 29:43, a new personal record, and Jenna Raboun was 40th, 33:15. 

The boys placed 3rd in the O'Connor division with 55 points. Lake City won the division after winning a tie with Pine River. Both teams scored 50 points. 

Gavin Guggemos won the division, which had 64 runners, with a time of 17:27, and was 10th overall for the day. Camden Moore was 3rd, 18:17, Coltrane Paryani was 9th, 19:20, Jackson Shetler was 16th, 20;53, and Ephraim Conway was 26th, 22:20, to round out our top five. Tre' Bromley was 31st, 23:28, Dylan Hunt was 34th, 23:56, and Mason Doehring was 55th, 27:12, a new personal record. 

The top 30% of the total runners in each grade won medals. Little, Martin, Borden, Curneal, Guggemos, Moore, and Paryani went home with hardware. 

After a long weekend and some miles, the Blazers will race again on Saturday, September 9th at the Charlevoix Mud Run. 

The Blazers raced at the Pete Moss Invitational at Benzie Central on Saturday, August 26th. They raced in the large school division against some D1 and D2 schools. You need five runners in a race to score a team. 

Rachel Forsyth of Ann Arbor Pioneer won the ladies race in 17:09. Grand Rapids Christian, Ann Arbor Pioneer, and Traverse City West, took 1st-3rd in the girls race. Kalkaska placed 13th of 17 scoring teams, which was pleasing considering the level of competition. 136 runners completed the race. 

Myah Little was first runner in for the Blazer's top five taking 65th place, 22:27. Anna Martin was 79th, 23:19, Courtney Borden was 87th, 23:26, Kara Olds was 106th, 24:35, and Keira Curneal was 113th, 25:03. Kyley Rest was 128th, 28:09, and Jenna Rabourn was 132nd, 31:24. The girls scored 383 points, and finished two points ahead of Big Rapids. 

Simon Triezenberg of Grand Rapids Christian won the boys race in 15:42. Grand Rapids Chrisitan, Traverse City Saint Francis, and Traverse City West took 1st-3re places. The boys finished 7th of 14 scoring teams, which was excellent. There were 114 boys in the race. 

Gavin Guggemos was the first Blazer in, taking 10th place, 16:45. Camden Moore was 20th, 17:19, Adam Williams was 24th, 17:24, Coltrane Paryani was 59th, 18:24, and Jackson Shetler was 90th, 19:59. Ephraim Conway was 98th, 21:01 and Cade Ponstein was 110th, 22:59.  Mason Doehring was 114th, 28:34, dropping four minutes off of his first race, and this one was longer by .1 miles! The boys scored 183 points, They also happened to be one place in front of Big Rapids. Guggemos, Moore, Adams, Paryani, and Shetler all set new Personal Records. 

This was a good start to the season. The Blazers will race again on Thursday, August 31st in Ogemaw Heights at the Dwayne Rau Memorial Invitational. 

The Blazers cross country teams raced at the Petoskey Taco Two Mile race on Tuesday, August 22. 8 teams attended with 42 runners in the girl's race and 70 participating in the boy's race. You need five runners to score a team. 

Both Kalkaska teams scored 3rd place, though the emphasis was placed on the tacos.

In the girl's race Petoskey was first with 19 points, Charlevoix was second with 53 points, and Kalkaska scored 65 points. CamBrie Corey of Petoskey won the event with a time of 12:11. 

Myah Little led the Blazers, placing 7th overall and earning a Taco Two Mile T shirt with a time of 13:47. Courtney Borden was 15th, 14:42, Anna Martin was 16th, 14:52, Kara Olds was 18th, 15:31, and Keira Curneal was 24th, 15:53, to round out Kalkaska's top 5. Ava Ivkovich was back for her first race of the season, placing 34th, 17:21, and Kylee Reust finished 35th, 17:24. Little, Martin, Olds, and Reust all set new personal records for this distance. 

In the boy's race Petoskey was first with 20 points, Charlevoix second with 63 points, Kalkaska scored 67 points, Macinaw City was 4th with 112 points, and Ellsworth was 5th with 115 points. Shane Izzard of Petoskey won the race with a time of 10:17.

Gavin Guggemos led the Blazers, placing 2nd in 10:32. Camden Moore was 6th, 10:56, and both boys won t shirts. Coltrane Paryani was 15th, 11:38, Jackson Shetler was 29th, 12:50, and Ephraim Conway was 44th, 13:44 to round our Kalkaska's top 5. Dylan Hunt was 54th, 14:26, and Mason Doehring was 66th, 18:13. Guggemos, Moore, Paryani, and Hunt all ran personal records for this distance. 

Overall, it was a very successful night for the Blazers. They will race again on Saturday, August 26th at the Pete Moss Invitational in Benzonia.