HART — The Whitehall Vikings got conference season off to a strong start Tuesday afternoon, competing at the first West Michigan Conference jamboree at Hart. The Vikings’ boys placed second to Mason County Central in the race, led by two top-10 finishes from Alex Dennis and Logan Irey. Dennis and Irey placed fifth and sixth respectively in the race with times of 17:26 and 17:28.

The Montague boys also performed well, placing sixth, missing a top-5 placement by a single point. Spencer Morse was the leading Wildcats’ runner with a time of 18:57. He placed 26th overall. Dylan Graber and Brennan Zuniga were right behind Morse as the next two placers.

The Vikings’ girls were third in Tuesday’s race, with Jessica Harris’s second-place time of 20:07 leading the way for Whitehall. Montague’s girls team did not post a team score at the event, but Kenadee Shugars notched an impressive ninth-place finish, with a time of 21:14.

Last Friday, Whitehall also ran in the Michigan State University Invitational in a field of over a hundred schools. The Vikings were sorted into the Bronze division with other schools of similar size and posted strong finishes. The boys’ team was fifth of the 31 teams in its division. Logan Irey ran the best time of any Viking, with a 17:34, good for 28th place in the division. Alex Dennis placed 30th with a time of 17:37 and Tyler Grove was 39th.

The Viking girls placed 14th of the 33 teams in the division. Jessica Harris placed 32nd in the division with a time of 20:51 to lead Whitehall. Cassandra McAllister placed 64th and Jessica Friend was 83rd.

R-P girls defeat Mona Shores

Reeths-Puffer’s girls cross-country team rolled past Mona Shores Wednesday afternoon in a road dual meet. The Rockets posted 24 points while the Sailors had 32.

Reeths-Puffer’s depth led the way, as the Rockets posted six of the top 10 finishers. Leading the way was Micah Peel, who ran her race in 20:44. McKenzie Richardson placed third and Summer Hussey was fifth.

Shy Archer placed sixth, Emily Cross was eighth and Naomi Parker placed 10th for the Rockets.

“The Rockets gave a strong performance with the meet not being decided until the final mile,” Rockets’ coach Dee Richards said.

Reeths-Puffer’s girls are now 4-0 in dual meets and return to action at Kenowa Hills this week.

The Reeths-Puffer girls’ team also competed last Friday at the Michigan State Invitational. The Rockets participated in the Green division and placed 20th of the 33 teams. Micah Peel placed 42nd with a time of 20:36 and Summer Hussey notched a 71st-place finish in a personal-record 21:10 to pace the Rockets.

“The girls ran well at the MSU Invite, but ran on tired legs having only one day of rest between races,” Richards said.