By Pierson VanGorp
The Grand Rapids Community College men’s and women’s cross country teams hit their stride at Friday’s Oakland Community College Raider Invitational where they both placed first respectively.
“I saw everyone of the women Raiders pass competitors or keep their pace so that they were giving every effort to reach the finish line as fast as they could go,” GRCC women’s cross country coach Sharon Becker said. “I’m proud of our team and their commitment to each other.
Placing first in a meet has been a goal for coach Becker all year and the Raiders were able to get that done with the effort of the whole team. Sophomore’s Kaylee Scott and Audrey Meyering ran a strong race together and finished first and third. Scott finished in 20:07 and Meyering trailed right behind her with a 20:11. Sophomore Rose Meyer placed fifth with a time of 20:32 and freshman Mariana Zaragoza had her fastest 5K time ever, finishing in 15th with a time of 21:32.
While the women dominated their race, the men’s cross country team relied on strong combined finishes to win their event. Head coach, Rob Hyde, was very impressed with his team’s performance.
“The team has worked so hard throughout the last few months and it is evident at every meet how much they want to win as a team,” coach Hyde said. “I’m extremely proud of everyone and we will build on this moving forward.”
Freshman Mason Kolhoff led the Raiders with a second place finish and a time of 26:38. Not far behind him, sophomore’s Andrew Periard, Coleman Clark, and Craig Fuller finished within three spots of each other. Periard had a time of 28:02 (12), Clark finished with a 28:13 (14), and Fuller clocked in one second later with a time of 28:14 (15).
Both teams will look to continue to make improvements and win their next meet when they travel to the Muskegon Jayhawk Invite on Saturday, Oct. 15. The meet will be at University Park Golf Course.
