Local Sports Journal

The Muskegon Community College men and women’s cross country teams were put to the test on Saturday.

The Jayhawks took on Hope College,  Albion College, Cornerstone University and Grace Bible College. Both MCC teams finished fourth, but continue to show marked improvement from last year despite a slower course and warmer temperatures.

MEN

On the men’s side, Mathias Waterstradt (Fr./North Muskegon High School) and Kyle Starr (So./Grant High School) led the men’s team by earning awards for finishing 15th and 16th respectively out of 58 collegiate runners.

“Both runners steadily moved up in the field during the second half of the race,” MCC coach Dan Fishel said. “One sign of a great college runner is his or her ability to keep an even pace.  Mathias and Kyle did a great job in that department today.”

Christian Seaver (Fr./Montague High School) has been the most improved of the team. Seaver  tied his 5K personal best time en route to his 8k time on Saturday, according to Fishel. Seaver is from Montague and a freshman for the Jayhawks.

“Corey Burt has also been a pleasant surprise, running a good time after recovering from sore shins.” Fishel said. Burt is an MCC freshman and a former runner at Orchard View.

Rounding out the top seven were Alex Drew (Fr./Coopersville High School), David VanBergen (Fr./Fruitport High School), and Mitch Clark (Fr./Whitehall High School).

WOMEN

Kaitlin “KT” Truman (Fr./Kent City High School) started the season strong with an 18th-place finish in leading the team.

“KT is a very competitive runner and that’s what I like about her.  She still wasn’t satisfied with her run, but I had to remind her of something,” Fishel said. “She started out the season 1:50 faster than Samantha Zimmer did last year, and Samantha was an All-American at the end of last season.  That says a lot about KT’s performance today.”

Kaytlynne Kerwin (Fr./Kent City High School), Meagan Lavin (Fr./Hesperia High School, Jessica Sevarns (Fr./Ravenna High School) and Jessica VanDyke (Fr./Reeths-Puffer High School) combined with KT Truman to run the fastest total time for the top 5 runners on the team in the 3-year history of the women’s cross country team at MCC.

Alexis Yost (Fr./Coopersville High School) and Krista Brandel (Fr./Muskegon High School) rounded out the top seven runners.

“Several of our women have had to take off time due to injuries already this season, including Kristi Hall, who didnt’ run (Saturday).  I think this shows that when we are fully healthy and in shape at the end of the season, our women’s team will be a tough team to beat.” said Fishel. Hall is a freshman from Grand Haven.