The Reeths-Puffer boys cross country team spent last season building a roster with a lot of promising underclassmen.
The Rockets had some ups and downs but entered 2023 with a lot of valuable experience.
That all paid off on Tuesday when Reeths-Puffer roared to the team championship at the season-opening Eagle Invitational at Fruitport Calvary Christian, taking three of the top six spots in the race.
R-P's Kye Grant, who took first place.
The Rockets finished in first place with 412 points, well ahead of second place Holland Christian, which had 553.
R-P junior Kye Grant was the overall champion, taking first place with a time of 17:20.71.
Senior Jaxon Allen was second with a time of 18:21.92 while junior Jamie Neel came in sixth place with a time of 19:11.89.
Dylan Sturr, a sophomore, took 28th place with a time of 20:11.68 and sophomore Jack Yonkman was 37th with a 20:52.93.
Sturr turned a lot of heads by finishing the Fruitport Calvary course four minutes and 14 seconds faster than last year.
“It was a great day to be a Rocket on the cross country team!” said R-P Coach Darin Grant.