The Big Lake boys varsity cross country team proved it’s a force to reckon with by winning the 21-team Princeton Invitational last Tuesday.

Jack Leuer outdistanced the field again to take the individual title in 15:41.20, beating runner-up Emery Wirth of Annandale by over 30 seconds.

The Hornets had outstanding efforts from the entire team to come away with the win. The team’s 2-3-4 runners, known as the “Big Lake Trio,” had their best times of the season. Trent Erickson broke the 17-minute barrier and finished 11th in 16:46.20. Judd Layton did the same, taking 16th in 16:57.10. Gavin Flavin was 19th in 17:05.10 and Theo Johnson finished 44th in 17:46.10 to complete the scoring.

Gavin Vold (62nd, 18:11.10) and Eli Henning (70th, 18:23.20) were Big Lake’s sixth and seventh finishes as the Hornets edged Rockford for the team title by two points.

The top five teams were: Big Lake 86, Rockford 88, Northwest Nighthawks 123, Becker 138 and Forest Lake 170.

Greta Layton had another stellar performance for the girls varsity. The eight-grader broke the 20-minute mark for the second time and placed eighth in 19:41.20. Campbell Slattery had her best time of the season and took 30th in 21:04.10.

Eighth-graders Elsie Jagusch and Hazel Guldseth were next for Big Lake, finishing 93rd and 94th respectively in 24:01.10 and 24:03.80. Erin Kjellberg was 98th in 24:08.20 to round out the scoring. Seventh-graders Clara Devine (24:35.10) and Aubri Judge (26:59.10) were the team’s sixth and seventh runners as the team finished in the middle of the pack in 13th.

The boys JV team took sixth of 16 teams. The Hornets had two runners finish in the top 10.

Ninth-grader Max Baron placed sixth in 18:44.80. Jack Schmidt was 10th in 18:49.60. The other point-scorers were Lucas Stevenson (49th, 20:13.30), Averi Jarvi (72nd, 21:32.20) and Nicholas Erickson (74th, 21:40.90).

Alayna Boe had the best time (28:32.10) for the Hornet girls in the JV race. Brynn Scheer was next in 28:59.20.

The middle school boys took sixth as a team with two runners finishing in the top 20.  Logan Phillips placed 14th in 12:47.1. Logan Lundt was a few steps back in 17th in 12:50.9.

Alexis Rowedder was Big Lake’s top finisher in the girls middle school 3200 meters, placing 33rd in 16:18.0.

The Hornets competed in the Mississippi 8 Conference Meet Tuesday, results next week. They run in the section meet at Princeton Thursday (Oct. 24) which will determine which individuals and teams qualify for the state meet.