In a field of 16 teams, the Miners girls scored 149 1/2 points to win by a whopping 83 over the runner-up and host Rams with 66 1/2.

The Negaunee boys finished a solid third in the same 16-school field with 63 1/2 points as Sault Ste. Marie won with 114 and Charlevoix was runner-up with 82.

The roster of teams included four eastern Upper Peninsula schools with the balance of teams coming from the northern Lower Peninsula, including a few larger schools such as Petoskey.

“We were very proud of how our kids competed in our first-ever track meet below the (Mackinac B)ridge,” Miners girls track head coach Vickie Paupore said in emailed details of the meets. “Our athletes did not shy away from the challenge, but rather competed with confidence and came away with some outstanding results.”

The Negaunee High School girls track and field team was the big winner at the Harbor Springs Ram Scram Invitational meet held in the northern Lower Peninsula town on a cool, cloudy day on Friday. (Photo courtesy Vickie Paupore)

Likely due to being an early-season meet, there were only 11 girls events and 12 boys events held — several field events weren’t held, nor were relays — but instead, five mixed relays were held that included both boys and girls in the quartets.

The Negaunee girls dominated with three athletes each winning a pair of events.

On this day, NHS’ Elvera Coyne won the 100-meter dash in 13.21 seconds as three other Miners placed in the top six, including Izzy Francisco in third. Coyne also won the high jump with a leap of 4 feet, 10 inches as teammate Nori Korsman was third.

Teammate Keira Waterman took the 200 in 28.00 as her team went 1-2-3 in the event, Francisco runner-up and Coyne third. Waterman added a victory in the 400 in 1:01.13 as a teammate was fifth.

The Negaunee girls also got wins from Sadie Rogers in the 100 hurdles in 16.67 and the 300 hurdles in 49.00, the latter a victory of more than 3 1/2 seconds.

The Miners’ Korsman was runner-up in the 800, while Adelyn Chapman was third in the 3,200.

The Negaunee boys won three events. Derek McEachern won the 200 in 23.45, a victory of about two-thirds of a second, and he also took the 400 in 53.11. Teammate Cole Pekrul was victorious in the 110 hurdles in 16.96 while also taking third in the 300 hurdles.

In the mixed 1,600 relay — consisting of two-boy, two-girl quartets — Negaunee won in 3:56.38 with Waterman, Rogers, McEachern and Thomas Menge.

The Miners were also runners-up

Story contents based on an email received from Negaunee girls track and field coach Vickie Paupore. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.