Three Rivers dominated the team crowns in a dual Wolverine Conference cross country meet on Tuesday, but Dowagiac senior Chris Gantt was clearly the individual star as he crossed the finish line nearly a minute ahead of the top Wildcat harrier.

Gantt broke away early on his home course and never looked back as he completed his victory in a time of 17:07 with a pair of Three Rivers runners finishing in the 18 minute barrier.

“I ran my best time of the year on Friday and am very happy as I believe this is the best course in southwest Michigan,” stated Gantt. “I am having a fantastic senior season with my goal being to win the school record at 16:30.”

“This course is tough and surprised at how fast they run and Chris (Gantt) really has a legitimate shot at the school record after running a 16:48 at the Michigan State meet on Friday,” Dowagiac boys and girls coach Ken Jordan said. “I am totally happy as 29 kids came out and all of them have a good time together, which really helps to keep the program going strong.”

Three Rivers won the boys meet by a 20-41 margin, with the Chieftain girls succumbing by a 17-45 outcome.

Six different Wildcats finished between Gantt and the next Dowagiac runner as juniors Ben Thompson and Marc Tyrakowski ran times of 19:58 and 20:14 respectively, after joining the squad when tennis failed to meet quantity qualifications.

“We picked up some tennis guys which has really helped,” noted Jordan. “Holly Luth really had a good race for the girls, but would like them as a team to become more aggressive like Three Rivers as they are a good group overall that I am proud of.”

A pair of sophomores and a freshman led the Wildcat girls as Marley Guy, Alicia Schmidtendorff and Allisa DeMint respectively, finished ahead of the sophomore Luth.

“Chris (Gantt) works really hard to be a leader and has promoted the sport well for four years,” commented Jordan. “I would love to see him break the record at the state meet at the end of the year.”

“I am very proud of winning this race by such a large margin as the whole conference is tough with Vicksburg and Paw Paw being very tough,” concluded Gantt. “I would like to continue running in college for any school that wants me.”

Boys Results

Three Rivers…21

Dowagiac…40

Chris Gantt (D) 17:07; Derek Tulla (TR) 18:05; Andrew Whitmyer (TR) 18:24; Shannon Grace (TR) 19:06; Kyle First (TR) 19:18; Alfredo Castro (TR) 19:20; Josh Winfrey (TR) 19:42; Ben Thompson (D) 19:58; Marc Tynakowski (D) 20:14; Lowell Sanders (TR) 20:21; Ryne Willming (D) 20:26.

Girls Results

Three Rivers…17

Dowagiac…45

Marley Guy (TR) 22:08; Alicia Schmidtendorff (TR) 22:20; Allisa DeMint (TR) 23:02; Holly Luth (D) 24:33; Elisa Young (TR) 25:13; Morgan Lewandowski (TR) 26:21; Kristina Bunn (D) 26:20; Rachel Wilcox (TR) 26:34; Tabbi Gazi (TR) 28:24; Kendra Wilson (D) 28:27; Paige Schaus (D) 28:49; Rebecca Luth (D) 29:31.