Armada tries to take another step toward a girls league cross country championship Tuesday.
The Tigers look for their second Blue Water Area Conference jamboree triumph when they run at Croswell-Lexington.
Armada finished fourth in the Orange (small school) Division at the Old Skool Invitational at Wolcott Farm Metropark on Saturday. Imlay City, a BWAC rival of the Tigers, took first place.
The Spartans and host Pioneers figure to provide the greatest BWAC challenges, Tiger runner Abby Bastien said.
“They’re neck-and-neck with us,” she said.
“I have faith in Armada,” Amanda Bastien, Abby’s twin and a Tiger reserve runner, said. “We’ve always had a fighting chance, but this year I have so much faith in our team.”
At the Old Skool Classic, freshmen ran against freshmen, sophomores against sophomores and so on.
On a hot day at an event where runners focus on having fun and finishing, but aren’t necessarily concerned about times, Alaina Carroll finished second in the sophomore race in 21 minutes, 38 seconds for Armada.
The Tigers’ Victoria Mabbitt completed the senior run in 26:07; Marlena Bell the senior in 26:19; Julia Klinkman the sophomore in 24:48, and Adriana Annoni the freshman in 27:18.
Those finishes gave Armada an adjusted score of 23. Imlay City had 13 points. Ninth-grader Jessica Diver led the Spartans with a time of 22:02.
Marysville finished second and Regina third. Regina’s Erin Golden was third in the senior race in 25:04.
Richmond finished sixth.
In the boys standings, Imlay City was first, Armada second and Marysville third. Memphis took fifth and Richmond was sixth. Tyler Carlson of Memphis won the ninth-grade race in 18:46.
Chippewa Valley finished third in the Red (large school) Division girls meet at the Old Skool. Faith Bridgeman, Elise Pannemann, Paige Koehler, Alex Pannemann, and Emily Nows were the Big Reds’ scorers and medal winners.
“It was our best finish in recent memory,” coach Frank Tymrak said.