The Sturgis cross country teams made some strides at Saturday’s Centreville Invitational, claiming a victory in the boys Class B upperclassmen race.
Grant Brown turned in a time of 17:13 for first place in the division and third overall. Terry Stahl was second in 17:40 and Trever Sprowls completed the first-third sweep with a time of 17:46.
“Grant did a great job going out with the top group,” Trojans coach Emerson Green said. “Terry is starting to get back in to great racing form and ran a better first mile that led to a better race. Trevor really showed today that he is serious about shooting for our top five. We need to see this energy in practice all season for him to truly help us in the SMAC and at regionals.”
Shawn Bell scorched the underclassmen field with a medalist time of 16:55 — 45 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher from Berrien Springs. Daniel Tetzloff, who returned from a stint in the training room to run his first race off the year, was ninth (19:27).
“We are hoping with the return of Daniel Steele that we will be able to make some noise at Holly next weekend,” Green said.
The Sturgis girls finished second in both divisions. Peyton Boughton won the upperclassman race — a two-team affair with Three Rivers — by nearly two minutes with a time of 20:37. Elle Bowman was fourth in 24:23.
Andrea Hernandez Garcia (23:06) posted the fastest Sturgis time for the underclassmen, which was good for third place.
“Peyton looked good and is beginning to get her competitive fire back,” Green explained. “Andrea Garcia is about to break 23 minutes, which is her early season target. She is running aggressively and is showing promise as a freshman. The entire girls team is improving at a steady pace and we hope will be ready when SMAC competition begins in two weeks.”
Full results can be found on the Scoreboard page.