BENZONIA -- First, Glen Lake. Now, Benzie Central.
Alex Primeau is on a roll.
The St. Francis junior made it two in a row Saturday, capturing the boys race in the small school division of the Benzie Central Cross Country Invitational.
Primeau finished in 17:49.6 to best Bear Lake's Chuck Schoedel, who came in second in 17:58.2.
"This is the first 5K I've ever won," Primeau said. "It's pretty exciting."
The Glen Lake race, held last weekend, covered two miles.
It was at the two-mile mark Sa turday where Primeau "kicked it in gear and never stopped."
Although he was never seriously threatened, Primeau was still cognizant of Schoedel.
"Chuck's got an amazing kick," he said. "I thought he might get me. But not this time."
Primeau did take a glance over his shoulder to see just where Schoedel was as he sprinted toward the finish line.
"It was scary," he said. "People were cheering him (Schoedel) on like he was right behind me."
Primeau was one of three Gladiators in the top nine. Ricky Woods placed seventh in 18:37.6 and James Alpers ninth in 18:44.5.
"The boys have been putting in the summer miles, and it showed today," St. Francis coach Tom Read said. "They're starting the season right. Hopefully, we can finish the season just as strong.
"But we still have a long way to go to improve," he cautioned.
Lake City's Kyle Schippa took third in 17:59.8. He was followed by Kingsley's Tommy Sedlacek (18:06.7) and Bear Lake's Jaron Llewellyn (18:26.3).
Bear Lake won the team trophy with 48 points. St. Francis was second with 56.
Midland Dow's Stephen Walker was the star in the large school division. He beat runner-up Fasika Aklilu of East Kentwood by more than 23 seconds -- 16:12.9 to 16:35.
"I've been running a lot this summer," the senior said. "I'm feeling great. I was itching to get out here."
Walker, second in the 1600 in the state Division I track meet in June, used that energy to separate himself from the field about halfway through the race.
"At a mile and a half I just took off," he said. "I felt awesome.
"I wanted to break 16 (minutes). For the first meet, though, I'm pretty happy with it (time)."
Charlevoix's Alex Buday finished fifth at 16:52.6.
"I'm just getting into really good shape," Buday said. "In past years I didn't really run in the summer."
There was a reason for that.
"He's been a dual sport athlete -- soccer and cross -- the last couple years," Rayders coach Ken Plude said. "He decided last year he needed to make a decision because it was affecting his academics."
With just one sport to focus on, Buday said he's logged nearly 500 miles in training this summer.
"It's made a big difference," Plude said. "That time (16:52.6) was phenomenal. It's pretty close to equaling his best time of last year."
Cadillac's Evan Roycraft took sixth in 16:56 while Traverse City Central's Alex Lance placed eighth in 17:01.3.
"My strategy was to go out and try to stay with the leaders as long as possible," Lance said. "Walker -- he's a fast guy."
Central coach John Lober was not surprised by Lance's effort.
"Alex was right where I thought he would be -- up in the top group," he said. "It's nice to run against a kid (Walker) who's one of the top runners in the state. That was a good test for Alex to run up there."
Williamston won the team race with 64 points. East Kentwood was second (88), Cadillac third (135) and Traverse City Central fourth (142).
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