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The Eagles smothered the opposition last Friday to claim the trophy at the Deckerville Invitational by scoring 11 firsts in the 17 events, plus eight second and third place finishes each.

Long, whose Eagles are seeking to repeat as GTC East champs this spring, is not downplaying Friday's championship, but noted that some times, in some events, are not where they were last year at this stage of the young season.

"I'm looking for our kids to keep improving, especially the sprints and the distances," said Long. He also added that his team has not ran into any other strong teams yet.

Two athletes that have jumped right out of the gate strong for the Eagles are seniors Seth McVittie and Bryan Shagena.

McVittie claimed four individual firsts Friday in very impressive fashion. He won the 110 hurdles in :15.58, the 300 hurdles in :41.80, long jump with an effort of 20'8 1/2" and high jump at 5'8".

"Actually, everything Seth did Friday night , I think were PRs (personal bests), everything but the high jump maybe. He's doing well," Long mentioned.

Shagena, a dedicated weightlifter who will play football at Alma College this fall, had his best toss of the spring with a winning effort of 47'6 1/2" in the shot. He also won the discus with a throw of 117'3".

Senior Wes Messing had a part in two Deckerville firsts, winning the 400 meter dash (:57.03) despite a strong westerly wind on the front straightaway, and then running a leg on the 800 meter relay team (1:41.51). He also was second in the long jump (20-3 3/4) and the high jump (5-8).

Other Eagles firsts came from Sean Hornby in the 3200, Jayce Barr in the 100 meter dash and the 3200 and 400 meter relay teams.

Harbor Beach, also a GTC East member, was second in the team standings with 86 points. Peck, of the NCTL, was sixth with 46.5. Peck's best finishes were a second from the 800 relay team and a second from Andy Warren in the 3200 run.