Sylvester a second away from 3-peat

DULUTH — Thunderhawk Brenden Sylvester nearly won his third consecutive cross country meet, but one-sixth of a second kept him in second place. That’s how close it was at Tuesday’s Lake Superior Conference Championship at Grand View Golf Course in Duluth. Sylvester finished with a time of 16:52.1, just behind Cloquet’s Evan Rothamel, the winner at 16:51.5 - the only two runners to finish the 5K race in sub-17 minutes.

Sylvester has been at his best this past month. Thunderhawks head coach Patty CarlinJanssen thinks he’s primed for the postseason.

“Brenden will be working to get that top spot in the 7AA meet. He's looking to return to his third

state meet and hoping the entire team will be there again,” said CarlinJanssen.

Grand Rapids boys took third place overall with 71 points. Zane Poenix’s strong senior year continues with another top-10 finish, coming in sixth with 17:44.9. CarlinJanssen says he sets a good example for his teammates.

“Zane's leadership through the summer to get the team together to run in preparation for the season has paid off for him and the team. He's a minute faster than last year.”

Not long behind Poenix was Matthew Johnson who came in 10th out of 56 runners with a time of 18:09.3.

Cora Metelak was the high place-finisher on the girls’ side, coming in 20th with a time of 22:35.3

The middle school boys team had a big day on the course, winning the Lake Superior Conference meet with their top-5 runners earning All-Conference Middle School awards, according to CarlinJanssen.

In the 3,200 Junior High race, seventh-grade Grand Rapids runner James Downing was the winner, leading the team to victory with a time of 12:31.9. He was followed closely by teammate Silas Gunderson who came in fourth at 13:25.4.

The section championships are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 24, in Hibbing.