Liz Copan / ecopan@summitdaily.com
FRISCO — A pair of top 10 individual finishes by seniors Max Bonenberger and Jeremiah Vaille propelled the Summit High boys cross-country team to a third-place finish among 19 schools at Saturday’s Battle Mountain Husky Invitational in Minturn.
Bonenberger’s sixth-place time of 17:13.00 on the 5,000-meter course at Maloit Park led the Tigers and earned the team 6 points — the lower the individual and team score, the better. Vaille (17:29.00) finished 16 seconds behind Bonenberger, earning the Tigers eight points in the process.
Bonenberger’s time was 16 seconds off the podium pace. Mountain Vista junior Harrison Witt won the 127-runner boys meet with a time of 16:51.00.
“The course was a challenging mix of dirt and mowed mountain grass with a blend of flat, climbing and descents,” Summit head coach Heather Quarantillo said. “… Overall, it was a great day for our teams. All of our squads have been working hard the first three weeks in speed work and hill climbing. Next week, we switch gears to the Liberty Bell Invitational, which is flat and fast and is one of the fastest races in the state.”
Summit freshman Dom Remeikis continued his strong start to his high school running career, finishing as the top freshman with a time of 18:05.00. Remeikis was 39 seconds faster than the next-fastest freshman, earning the Tigers 13 points in the process.
The Tigers’ boys team also received points on Saturday from senior Paul Hans (25th, 25 points, 18:36.00) and junior Sam Burke (26th, 26, 18:41.00).
With their 78 total points, the Tigers finished behind meet champion Mountain Vista (21) and Monarch (71). Summit finished ahead of rival Battle Mountain (84), among others.
In the girls race, the Tigers finished in ninth place of 18 teams with a team score of 250. Though top senior runner Grace Staberg did not compete Saturday — she raced the Grand Traverse trail run between Aspen and Crested Butte — Summit was led by junior Alice Wescott (36th, 35 points, 23:52.00), freshman Logan Reid (45th, 44, 24:14.00) and freshman Paige Wescott (54th, 53, 24:31.00).
The Tigers girls also received points from sophomore Aubree Confer (57th, 56, 24:44.00) and sophomore Kaelin Love (63rd, 62, 25:02.00). The individual meet was won by Mountain Vista senior Sarah O’Sullivan (19:58.00) propelling the Golden Eagles to a team title with 30 points.
Summit will run next at Saturday’s Liberty Bell Invitational at Heritage High School in Littleton, scheduled to begin at 8:45 a.m.