From left, Marquette's Peter Argeropoulos, Negaunee’s Henry Plummer (partially hidden), the Sentinels’ Rorik Holmquist and Lucas Ballard, and Sault Ste. Marie's Gabe Litzner run together at the front of the pack during the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals in Division 1 boys cross country at Pictured Rocks Golf Course in Munising on Saturday. Litzner would win with Holmquist second, Argeropoulos third, Ballard fourth and Plummer sixth. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MUNISING — It’s not often a cross country runner gets to end his or her high school career as a four-time MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals champion.

Sault Ste. Marie senior Gabe Litzner wasn’t going to be denied on this sunny and warm Saturday, however, completing the sweep by covering the Pictured Rocks Golf Course 3.1-mile course in 15 minutes, 58.3 seconds.

He was followed by a trio of Marquette runners — seniors Rorik Holmquist in 16:15.8 and Peter Argeropoulos in 16:24.5, along with their junior teammate Lucas Ballard in 16:40.

Then came Sault Ste. Marie senior Shea Armstrong fifth in 16:54.9, with Negaunee senior Henry Plummer sixth in 17:08.0.

Also cracking the top 10 was Miners senior Simon Jaklin in 17:45.9.

“It’s awesome to look back at all the memories and friends I made,” Litzner said. “It feels like the conditions were a lot better last year.

“It warmed up quickly, and I think it caught everybody off guard. We’ve had quite a few colder races. The temperature had been in the 50s nearly every day.

“The Marquette guys were definitely pushing me throughout the race. I used a lot of the same strategy as last year. I followed a conservative approach in the first mile, then took off.”

The Sentinels captured their seventh straight Division 1 title with 34 points. The Soo was runner-up for the seventh consecutive time with 43, while Houghton placed third with 84.

Negaunee came in fourth with 124, while Westwood was fifth with 135 in an eight-team field.

Litzner became the first boys runner since 2019 to take a fourth U.P. championship, following Brimley’s Austin Plotkin, who earned top honors four times in a row in Division 3.

“Gabe and Shea did what they do,” Soo coach Jim Martin said. “We had some kids step up. One of our freshmen (Drew Burtt) really stepped up. We had five guys run good races. They found a way to get it done.”

Marquette had another four runners make the second 10, which is also where Westwood’s top two runners finished.

Sentinels senior Beepsee Teeple was 12th in 17:53.8, sophomore Lake Skytta 13th in 17:56.9 and sophomore Garrett Crimmins 14th in 18:02.9.

Then came Patriots senior Jared Waterman 15th in 18:08.6 and freshman Calvin Carlson 16th in 18:13.6.

And Marquette sophomore Welly Fillmore was 17th in 18:14.7.

There was a gap until the next area runner, who was Westwood senior Breckin Jensen 32nd in 19:37.9.

Division 2

Jeffers made it five team titles in a row, placing seven runners among the top 14 and scoring 23 points. The Jets were followed by Rudyard with 51 and Munising in third with 117.

Manistique was a close fourth with 126, beating out Pickford on the fifth-runner tiebreaker for that spot, in a field of eight scoring teams.

“On the first day of practice we talked about it, and the biggest accomplishment is all seven boys and both girls medaled,” Jeffers coach Sam Kilpela said. “It ended up being a great day.

“This speaks volumes for our program. Overall, we stayed healthy, and on the last day we finished the job. This is the first time in our school history we won it five years in a row.”

Jeffers senior Cameron Anderson won an individual finals championship for the first time, in 16:41.1, followed by classmate Landon Larson in 17:33.4, Rudyard senior Steven Kirschner in 17:51, Jeffers sophomore Branson Anderson in 18:07 and Pickford junior Jacob Mitchell in 18:11.6.

Munising was paced by junior Blake Lakosky in ninth in 19:05.6, while Manistique’s first finisher was sophomore Kavin Jackson in 12th in 19:24.0.

Munising also freshman Dylan Krause come in 21st in 20:26.2 and junior Ben Dryke 30th in 21:23.3.

Manistique senior Alexander Harrison was 26th in 20:59.9 and senior teammate Ashton Vincent 27th in 21:09.4.

Gwinn, which didn’t have a full team, was led by freshman Jonathon Sheen in 50th in 25:48.8.

Division 3

Forest Park clinched its first Division 3 championship with 58 points, followed by St. Ignace with 71 and 2024 champ Engadine at 91.

Superior Central placed seventh with 160 points, while Newberry was eighth with 177.

“This is a very special day,” Forest Park coach D.J. Rasner said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the boys. They worked so hard all year.

“Having a full team put us in a better situation. We got our fifth runner halfway through the season, and it gave us a lot of momentum. I think we’re also gaining some momentum in our school. More kids want to be a part of this.”

Cedarville-DeTour junior Ethan Snyder gained the top individual honor in 17:32, becoming the first from his school to take a U.P. title since 2004, when Cedarville’s Chad Schlosser was crowned champ.

Ishpeming junior Kemper Gearhart was runner-up at 17:51.7, while also cracking the top 10 was senior teammate Mateusz Wozniak in ninth in 18:57.1.

He was followed by Mid Peninsula freshman Ashdeyn Gerow in a personal-best 17:55, Engadine sophomore Nate Stielstra in 18:13.4 and St. Ignace senior Dalton Champion in 18:30.9.

A pair of Newberry runners placed in the second 10, with sophomore Julian Suriano 14th in 19:14.3 and senior Kellan Bruno 20th in 19:42.2.

Leading SC was senior Cole Ozoga in 25th in 20:04.1, while senior teammate Cody Moore was close behind in 27th in 20:06.2.

L’Anse’s first placer was junior Josue Calderon in 60th in 22:22.3, while Republic-Michigamme’s representative was freshman Grady Blubaugh, who was 87th in 27:06.1.

John Vrancic covered the U.P. Finals in cross country for the Michigan High School Athletic Association website, mhsaa.com. He also writes for the Daily Press of Escanaba.