Mackinaw City cross country team continues its successful season with strong showings at Beal City and Gaylord Invitationals.

The Comets finished third during the prestigious Beal City Cross Country Championships, which is a small preview of the Lower Peninsula state finals Saturday, October 22.

Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart won the meet with 108 points, followed by Fairview at 120, Mackinaw City 122, Mason County Eastern 133, Fowler 148, Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian 155, Ellsworth 197, Buckley 198, Wolverine 214, Beal City 233, Central Lake 310, Boyne Falls 324, Jackson Christian 329, Oakland Christian 330, Fulton 362, Gaylord St. Mary 363, Marion 371, and Hudsonville Freedom Baptist 435.

David Mercer led the Comets with a fifth place finish in 17:05, Dane Curth 15th in 17:38, Logan Paquet 21st in 17:48, Blaine Paquet 42nd in 18:57, Matt Alexander 49th in 19:05, Brandyn Clemens 19:32, and Chris Laninga 19:40.

Comets Sixth at

Gaylord Invitational

Mackinaw City finished sixth during the Gaylord Invitational that included five Class A teams, four Class B, and seven Class C and D schools.

Kalkaska won the 23-team meet with 39 points, followed by Benzie Central with 42, TC West 125, TC Central 176, Bay City John Glenn 181, Mackinaw City 205, Ludington 243, Wolverine 245, Lake City 245, and Charlevoix 254 in the top 10.

The Comets’ David Mercer finished eighth with a time of 17:51, Dane Curth 18th in 18:17, Logan Paquet 20th in 18:18, Matt Alexander 19:52, Chris Laninga 20:29, and Brandyn Clemens 20:43. The winning time was Paul Grieve of Kalkaska in 16:46.

Four Mackinaw City girls competed in the meet. Ciara McVey placed eighth in 24:43, Callan Martin 17th in 26:16, Katie Smydra 35th in 29:30, and Julie Alexander 45th in 34:00. Teams need five girls for team scoring.

During the junior varsity meet, the Comets took sixth place, led by Cullen Lawson in 21:17, Spencer McFarland 21:33, Kevin Darrow 21:46, Barry Paquet 21:51, Klaus Jaggi 21:53, and Adam Alexander 22:58.