It was a dominant day for Central State Athletic Association last Saturday, as local cross country teams and individuals blazed through the 5K course at Shepherd High School.

Amongst the notables was Gus Rohde, who finished first overall in the gold division race with a new Reed City school record of 15:40.3. The former school best was 15:56.1, set by Joe Oerhli in 2011.

"Gus Rohde excelled today against some top competition," Head coach Rich Saladin said. "What a day for him."

Anthony Kiaunis also finished fourth with a PR of 16:01 which gives him the third best time in school history. Ryan Allen (15th at 16:21.6), Isaac Clementshaw (79th at 17:54.3), and Paul Saladin (86th at 18:04.1) also ran personal bests rounding out the Coyote five that finished fifth overall in the 22-team standings. 

Right behind the Coyotes was Central Montcalm who placed sixth behind a strong performance from sophomore Gage Hoffman, who placed third overall with a 16:00.4. Graham Coston (16:24.6), Sylus Wilson (31st at 16:52.8), Kyler Fertig (72nd at 17:48.3), and Evan Rolston (93rd at 18:13.7) rounded out the Hornets' top five. Tyler Vining (103rd at 18:27.1) and John Nielson (128th at 19:26.3) also competed for Morley Stanwood in the gold race.

On the girls’ side, Morley's own Miranda McNeil broke her own school record individually for the Mohawks as the third overall finisher in the opening gold race with a time of 18:25.0. 

The Hornets led the CSAA with the highest team finish in third place, followed by Reed City in 11th. Central Montcalm was led by race winner Kyah Hoffman with a 17:56 finishing time, followed by Ashley Choponis in sixth (19:12.5), Grace Coston in 10th (19:31.8), Andrea Rolston in 29th (20:43.5), and Braelyn Bunting in 70th (22:25.2). Isabella Max competed individually in the race with a 12th overall finisher in 19:37.3 for the Eagles.

Coyote scores included Caelynn London (50th in 21:47.5), Clara Smoes (53rd in 21:53.5), Marlow Walcott (76th in 22:39.1), Hallee Hervey (79th in 22:44.0), and Carly Carlson (92nd in 23:01.1). 

"Our girls exceeded expectations again today," Saladin said. "They ran strong, competed, and are improving quickly. It's going to be fun over the next month."

In the Blue races on the boys’ side, Big Rapids led the way with a seventh overall team placing out of 16 teams. Pacing the Cardinals was Hayden Gould with a 17th place finish at 16:54.9, followed by Austin Dalman in 25th (17:17.8), Kyan Deam in 41st (17:47.3), Joel Hardesty in 50th (18:11.3), and Brayden VanOs in 57th (18:30.9).

On the ladies’ side, the Cardinals took home at 14th place finish led by senior Gwendalynn Rickard in 62nd at 22:18.9. She was followed by Summer Adams in 66th (22:33.8), Emma Bowman in 81st (23:36.2), Oliviah Malloy in 82nd (23:37.5), and Abagail Rickard in 97th (24:37.1).

In the Jays division, White Cloud finished with strong performances with a fourth place finish for the boys’ team and a 14th place finish for the girls. Leading the boys was Coleson Cruzan in eighth at 17:17.6 preceded by Carson Foodle in 17th (17:51.1), Kaleb Canning in 32nd (18:26.0), Angelo Hinson in 49th (19:15.2), and Wyatt Karnes in 65th (19:47.0). Lakeview also had three individual competitors in the race, with Cooper Tiffany (18:31.9), Kyler Behrenwald (19:20.3), and Jesse Peterson (21:50.8) finishing 35th, 54th, and 104th respectfully.

On the girls’ side for the Indians, Andrea Feldpausch led the pack with an 18th place finish (22:23.1), followed by Brooklyn Foodle in 51st (24:57.3), Alexandria Rodriguez in 102nd (32:12.0), Charlotte Karnes in 105th (36:20.8), and Anna Mohr in 108th (36:48.8). For the Lakeview Wildcats, Kamryn Salladay earned the race win individually with a 19:33.0 final time. Rounding out the Wildcat scorers included Hadley Tiffany (45th in 24:27.4), Molly Willison (77th in 27:08.1), Audrey Stevens (84th in 28:27.6), and Sydney Moore (85th in 28:31.8) for a 10th place finish.

All CSAA teams will return to racing on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at White Cloud High School for the second conference jamboree starting at 4:30 P.M.