Ely’s cross country teams got the 2026 season off to a strong start last week at Virginia.
The boys placed fourth among 12 teams while the girls were fifth in an 11-team field at the Sept. 3 Rock Ridge Invitational, but the standings told just part of the story.
Several Ely boys had fast times out of the gate and the Timberwolves only trailed larger schools Hibbing and Hermantown and were within striking distance of section rival Greenway/ Nashwauk-Keewatin.
“It went good and there were a lot of teams, 17 teams there,” said Ely Head Coach Jayne Dusich. “One thing I’m happy about was with the boys varsity team in fourth with 104 and GNK had 95, so we were not too far off from them.”
Among the boys, junior Wyatt Devine had the best individual finish of any Ely runner, taking 13th overall on the 5,000-meter course with a time of 17:56. Just three spots back in 16th place was junior Blake Houde at 18:09.4.
Oliver Hohenstein opened his senior campaign by taking 20th (18:33.9), while Mason Kurnava (30th, 18:54.7), Grady Anderson (33rd, 19:03.5) and Aksel Skustad (39th, 19:15) all made the top-40.
“Normally, in the first meet, the boys run what seem to be bad times, but this time they had good races,” said Dusich. “Oliver and Wyatt and Blake and Aksel all had better times this year than last year, so they were happy about that.”
Oren Solum rounded out the Ely lineup by taking 45th (19:45.6).
As a team, the Wolves finished ahead of Proctor, North Branch, Grand Rapids, Duluth Denfeld, Esko, Mt. Iron-Buhl, Rock Ridge and Cloquet.
The varsity girls race was dominated by Hermantown eighth grader Nora Lucarelli, who won with an impressive time of 19:33.2, but Ely senior Molly Brophy returned from injury and took 14th in 21:58.4.
“I didn’t think she was going to run as her knee has been hurting, but she ran and then ended up having a side ache, so that affected her,” said Dusich. “But I’m happy about the knee feeling better.”
Mattie Lindsay had the next-best Ely time of 22:47.8, taking 23rd overall while Isabella Macho opened the year by taking 41st (23:47.5).
Next up were Katy Brophy (51st, 24:49.2) and Payson Kundinger (54th, 24:59.5).
“Both Payson and Isabella had better races than last year,” said Dusich.
Other finishers for the Wolves were Moxie Lindsay (64th, 25:56.3)and Lucy Dunn (69th, 26:43.2).
Ely finished behind Hibbing, Hermantown, GNK and Grand Rapids but ahead of several other schools.
In junior varsity boys action, the top finishers for the Wolves were Grant Chittum (seventh, 21:12.7), Liam Kurnava (eighth, 21:35.6) and Josiah Bridell (11th, 21:58.2), while Ely’s Lillie O’Neill took fifth in the JV girls competition in 27:14.1.
Ely’s C-squad boys fared well, with Elliot Eastham taking third in the 3,200 meter event in 12:05.9.
Boden Devine was sixth in 12:24.8, with Alden Harding (11th,12:54.1) and Leo Shock (18th, 13:18.2) also making the top-20.
“With our junior high boys, everybody who ran last year had better times this year by anywhere from two to four minutes,” said Dusich. “They were right there with Grand Rapids and Hibbing.”
Ely’s highest finisher in the C-squad girls race was Jenna Bermel, who wound up 19th in 15:44.3.
The Wolves were set to compete Thursday, after deadline, at the Greenway Invitational.
