Heading into the 2023 season, the Grand Rapids Community College Cross Country team looked to rebuild some of the lost talent they had in the last season.
GRCC men’s head coach Robert Hyde was challenged to bring in new talent and understood that there might be growing pains with the new roster.
“We are definitely in a rebuilding phase as we had nine people last year with six graduating, and two not returning, and started the year off with one returner,” Hyde said. “We currently have four runners and I am working on signing another three to make a complete team. The runners that we train work very well and are ready for the season so they will be a great base for any new renters that we have on this team.”
Hyde alluded to improving every individual’s score heading into the week of nationals.
“My goal is to improve throughout the season and we are strongest by the end,” Hyde said. “We want to make sure we have a team that can qualify for nationals and have a strong showing. Nationals are in November so that’s what everything we do is focused on.”
With the women’s team, head coach Sharon Becker faced even more drop-off as every runner from last year’s roster either graduated or did not return. The team brought on three talented runners to start the season, with only two runners racing in their first meet.
“My expectations for the season are to help the players on and off the field with any personal issues they may have,” Becker said. “I also want to allow them to improve throughout the season.”
The Grand Rapids Community College’s cross country teams kicked off the 2023 season at the Raider Invite on Friday, Sept. 15 at Douglas Walker Park, Grand Rapids. The men’s team finished in seventh place while the women’s team only had two runners that both placed within the top 35 women runners.
Out of 22 institutions, the men’s team finished seventh in general and fourth among community colleges. Northwood dominated the competition with a score of 17, Lansing Community College finished second with a score of 72, and Aquinas finished third with a score of 91.
Freshman Joseph VanderKooi led the Raiders as he placed 39th overall with a time of 27:23 in the 8K. The trio, freshman Austin Winkle, freshman Anthony Lawlor, and sophomore Dan Kehoe, stuck together for the majority of the race and finished in the top-80. Winkle had a time of 28:22, Lawlor clocked a time of 28:26, and Kehoe finished with a time of 29:11.
Freshman Isaac DeLeon ran his first career 8K in just under 37 minutes.
As for the women’s team, they had two runners who both excelled in their first collegiate 5K. Freshman Anna Tubbergen was in the top-10 for the majority of the race and finished 11th out of 113 runners with a time of 19:53.
Fellow Freshman, Elica Land, placed 34th with a smooth time of 21:33.
Both the men’s and women’s team run their next meet on Friday, Sept. 22 at Grand Woods Park in Lansing at 12:30 p.m.
