2023 Cross Country Invitational

It was a beautiful day for a run and to eat some hot dogs as the Harper Creek Optimist sponsored their annual Cross Country Invitational on August 26, again supplying refreshments to all the runners, coaches and spectators.  Nine schools participated in this year’s event. The format was the same as the past with 4 races in the order they ran: Junior/Senior Girls, Junior/Senior Boys, Freshman/Sophomore Girls and Freshman/Sophomore Boys. The winning Boys and Girls team was determined on the placement of the lowest times from the school’s runners from either race. Small school Hanover-Horton stole the show wining both the Boys and Girls events. Harper Creek ran well as the Boys placed second and the Girls third. Harper Creek runner Dominic Lowrie had the fastest time of the day wining the Boys Junior/Senior race in a fast time of 16:47. Harper Creek also fared well in the Boys Freshman/Sophomore race with Cooper Gardner taking first with a time of 17:33. The best finish for a Harper Creek girl was Emma Monroe, who finished fourth in the Junior/Senior race with a time of 21:53. Members of the Harper Creek Optimist club served over 400 hot dogs along with apples, candy, chips and water to all those in attendance.   

Twelve schools participated in this year’s Harper Creek Cross Country Invitational. The format was the same as the past with 4 races in the order they ran: Junior/Senior Boys, Junior/Senior Girls, Freshman/Sophomore Boys and Freshman/Sophomore Girls. The winning Boys and Girls team was determined on the placement of the lowest times from the school’s runners from either race. Portage Central, who was a late invite, stole the show winning both the Boys and Girls divisions. Harper Creek ran well with the Boys finishing 2nd and the Girls 4th. The most exciting race was the first (JR/SR Boys) with both runners lunging at the finish line. Portage Central‘s Ben Hunter was given first place with a time of 16:27.7, barely beating Parchment’s William Winter. Harper Creek’s highest finisher was Dominic Lowrie, who won the FR/SOPH Boys race with a time of 17:19.5 and finished 7thin the overall timing of both boy’s races. Gail Vaikutis of St. Joseph High School lead wire to wire in the Girls JR/SR race with a fast winning time of 19:37.6 to claim first overall for the girls. Stella Hensley of Portage Central won the FR/SOPH Girls race with a time of 21:57.7. Harper Creek boys top 15 finishers in their particular race are the following: Brian O’Dell 14th with 17:52.6 in the JR/SR Boys and Cooper Gardner 4th at 17:49.5, Kaymen Graybeal 10th at 18:56.4, Camren Brock 11th at 18:57.0 and Ryce Ferrell 14th with a time of 19:26.3 in the FR/SOPH Boys race. The fastest Harper Creek girl’s finisher was Madison Berning 8th with a time of 21:33.7 and Katie Behnke 10th at 22:34.7 in the JR/SR Girls race and Julia Faber finished 10th in the Girls FR/SOPH race with a time of 23:45.0. 

Twelve schools participated in this year’s Harper Creek Cross Country Invitational. Due to the extreme heat, the event was started an hour early and instead of running 4 races (Boys and Girls SR/JR and SOPH/FR) only a Boys and Girls race was run combining all four classes. The home teams of Harper Creek High School were winners as the Boys took first place and the Girls finished third.