Benzie Central High School

REED CITY — Benzie Central girls track team outlasted Traverse City St. Francis to make an early-season statement Saturday at the fifth annual Reed City Coyote Invitational. The Huskies mile and two-mile relay teams of Sarah Heuser, Ashlyn Hughes, Ingrid Molins Rallo and Avery Kelly (4x400-relay, 4:17.46); Addison Hughes, Kaitlyn Kaple, Avery Kelly and Maggie McClellan (4x800 relay, 10:18.08) couldn’t be denied for first place finishes. “We finally got to beat our rivals, St. Francis, after many years,” Kelly said. Traverse City St Francis was right behind the Huskies with a second-place finish. Kelly took first in the 800-meter run and finished second in the mile, both good enough for personal records to go along with relay wins. “We are looking at what we can improve on in the relays; the little tiny things that we can fix to make ourselves better,” Kelly said. Both relay teams are currently top five in the state with high hopes for regionals in a few weeks. Benzie Central sophomore Elsa Carter owned the ring, taking first in shot put and discus with throws of 33 and 103 feet Girl team results: Benzie Central, Traverse City St. Francis, Frankfort, Pine River, Buckley, Reed City, Grand Rapids Covenant, Evart, Bear Lake, Muskegon Catholic, Grant. Boy team results: Traverse City St. Francis, Reed City, Benzie Central, Pine River, Frankfort, Grant, GR Covenant, Buckley, Evart, Bear Lake, Muskegon Catholic, McBain Northern Michigan, Big Rapids. . Benzie Central: Avery Kelly (800, 2:28); Elsa Carter (shot put, 33'10.5"); Elsa Carter (discus, 103'10"); Ashlyn Hughes (300-hurdles, 49.65). Benzie Central: Jackson Schaub, Landon Harris, Cage Edingfield, Oliver Graetz (4x400 relay, 3:44); Graetz, Schaub, Edingfield, Kyle Vincent (4x800-relay, 8:37); Parker Pritchett (shot put, 51’).