SOUTH DUXBURY — The Vergennes Union High School boys’ cross-country team won a close duel with the host school in Saturday’s Harwood Invitational over a hilly course on a sunny, seasonally warm day.
With Ben Huston taking fourth place to lead five VUHS runners among the top 14 finishes in the six-team field, the Commodores scored 44 points to edge the Highlanders by two points.
Middlebury, paced by Jack Christner in third place, was third as a team (71), followed by Montpelier (101), North Country (115) and Missisquoi (133).
With only three scoring teams on the girls’ side, Harwood (16) breezed past MUHS (47) and NCU (78). Mary Ann Eastman led MUHS by taking seventh.
The Mount Abraham coaches opted to have their teams compete at the JV level. Noah Engvall (third in 19:21.5) led the Eagle boys to a second-place finish among four teams, and Ruby Jean Hall (ninth in 24:00) paced the Eagle girls, who were third among four teams.
North Country’s James Cilwik won the boys’ varsity 5K race in 17:13.
The VUHS scorers were: 4. Huston, 17:53.8; 6. Gabe Praamsma, 18:26.8; 8. Erich Reitz, 18:49.6; 12. Julio Quiles, 19:19.5; and 14. Chris Therrien, 19:45.
The MUHS scorers were: 3. Christner, 17:51.8; 7. Thomas Nevins, 18:38; 10. Will Carpenter, 19:04.1; 25. Nico Brayton, 21:33.9; and 26. Kieran Sheridan, 21:36.4.
Harwood’s Ava Thurston won the girls’ 5K race in 19:24.6.
The MUHS scorers were: 7. Eastman, 21:45.9; 9. Isabel Olson, 22:00.4; 12. Sofia Stefani, 23:11.2; 13. Fairly Olson, 23:28.9; and 16. Ari Graham-Gurland, 24:55.6.