GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - If Saturday’s NAIA Great Lakes Challenge results are any indication of what’s to come, look for the 24th-ranked HU women’s cross country to make some noise at the national level.
The Forester women finished 3rd in a field of 32 teams representing 355 runners.
In addition to finishing ahead of all of its league competitors including 25th-ranked Taylor, HU bested 12th-ranked Aquinas, 17th-ranked St. Francis (Ill.) and 20th-ranked Illinois Tech.
Leading the HU harriers was Gretchen Spahr who averaged a 6:03/mile to finish 18th overall in 18:49. Cendall Ogle finished four seconds later to claim 22nd place in 18:53. Coming in 35th was Hannah Moore who ran a 19:06.
Krista Wood established a new PR of 19:14 to finish 42nd. Erin Rockey (51st) rounded out Huntington’s scoring by running a 19:25. Other HU finishers included Natalie Spahr (79th, 19:47-PR), Miranda Boyts (107th, 20:11-PR), Brittani Florian (21:08), Amanda Henningfield (21:25) and Alyssa Haselby (23:47).
For complete results of the women's race, click
here.
Facing their stiffest competition of the year, the Forester men also had a strong outing finishing 13th out of 34 teams. Huntington’s top five runners averaged 27:08 for the 8K race.
Freshman Tyler Herber ran a 26:49 to lead the HU pack with a 64th finish out of 353 runners. Lance Wood was on heels to finish 65th in 26:53. Brian Menzie ran to a 78th place finish in 27:01.
Josh Graham was the next Forester to cross the line in a season best 27:15 for 96th place. Finishing 108th was Ethan Medley in 27:28. Other HU finishers included Antonio Castillo (132nd, 28:11), Matt Bittner (151st, 28:55), Isaiah Laatsch (29:08), Josh McIntyre (29:19) and Alan Huffman (30:19).
Against its conference foes, HU finished ahead of Marian (18th), Grace (21st), Bethel (23rd), Saint Francis (25th) and Mount Vernon (27th) and only two spots behind Taylor (11th). Indiana Wesleyan (5th) and Goshen (7th) topped the conference by running to a 5th and 7th place finish respectively.
For complete results of the men's race, click
here.
The Foresters have two weeks off to prepare for the Crossroads Championships slated for November 3rd at Indiana Wesleyan University.