It’s always extra fun for cross country runners to test themselves against the competition from neighboring schools.

Fruitport standout Christian Pavlige got the chance to do that on Saturday and discovered he is among the very best.

Pavlige, a junior, took third place out of a field of 79 runners on Saturday at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association meet at Muskegon Community College.

He finished with a time of 16:15 and won a medal for placing in the top 10.

Pavlige was only three seconds behind Whitehall’s Rex Pumford, who turned in a time of 16:12.

Whitehall standout Robert Jazwinski took first place, running away from the field with a dizzying time of 14:46.

Fruitport finished in fourth place out of 11 in the team standings with 118 points. Western Michigan Christian won the event with 52 points, followed by Whitehall (56), Montague (94) and the Trojans.

Fruitport’s Dylan Winskas also had a very good day, finishing 14th with a time of 17:34.

Corbin Jansheski was 27th with a time of 18:45, Landon Przbylek was 33rd with a mark of 19:13 and Carlos Cavero Rosel was 45th with a time of 19:54.

“The boys ran really well,” said Fruitport coach Randy Johnson. “Christian took third with a quality time. Dylan ran well as our number two. Corbin ran his best time of the season.  Landon and Carlos ran close to their best times.”