Local Sports Journal

MUSKEGON — The Whitehall 2 men’s team missed the individual championship, but it came away with the overall title Thursday in the Third Annual Muskegon Community College 5K Team Cross Country Challenge.

Whitehall’s trio of Alex Dennis, Keaton Smith and Roger Champion had a combined time of 52:31 to claim the overall team title. The group had 11 points in the team standings to claim the overall title.

Dennis had a shot at the individual title, according to meet organizer Dan Fishel, but Dennis apparently misread where the finish line was and Hesperia’s Damien Halverson slipped past to take that title.

Halverson led the Hesperia “State Bound” team to a first place in the Male 0-51 years age group with a 53:23.00 time. Hesperia’s entry finished with 13 points.

Halverson had a 16:53.0 time for the twice-around course at McGraft Park while Dennis clocked 16:54.0.

Smith ran 17:35 and came in fourth and Champion turned in 18:02 for fifth place for Whitehall. Hesperia also had clockings of 17:25 from Arik LaFave for third place and 19:05 from Kyle Venne for ninth place individually.

Hart had a surprising performance by a very young group of female runners. Hart’s team of “Triple A’s won the women’s 0-51 years group and finished third overall with a time of 1:00.07.0.

Adelyn Ackley ran 19:43.0, Alayna Ackley 20:08.0 and Sierra Albus 20:16.0 for Hart, which had 44 points.

The Big Red Norsemen took fourth overall in the team standings and first in the men’s 124-162 age group with 56 points. David Waterstradt clocked 19:31.0, Steve Douglas 21:25.0 and Clayton Lowe 22:28.0.

Richard Przybylek finished sixth and teammate Steve Leatherman seventh individually in leading the GVSU Laker Lifers to a first-place finish in the men’s 52-123 age group. Przybylek ran 18:24, Leatherman 18:33.0 and Jeff Elliott 27:25.0 for a combined 63 points.

PB&J captured the coed overall crown while winning the 124-162 years age group in that category with 71 points. Pedro Panteleon-Santiago finished eighth in running 18:37.0 while teammates  Joseph Masvero and Vicki Cox came in 26th and 37th individually, respectively. PB&J placed seventh in the overall team standings.

LSD 2 had the next best performance in the coed division. Andrew Witney, Braxtan Platt and Kassidy Baum had 88 points overall in finishing 11th overall with a time of 1:09.07 and winning the 0-51 years combined age group.

LSD had the second-best showing in the female division by winning the 0-51 years combined age division. Jennie Gottardo ran 19:56.0 in taking 14th individually and leading the threesome to a 1:05.32.0 time Teammates Madison Hodges and Alison Altland came in 25th and 35th, respectively.

Fifth place overall went to the team of Forced to Run in the men’s 0-51 years age group with 60 points. Jordan Lathrop came in 12th while teammates Steve Douglas and Clayton Lowe finished 19th and 27th, respectively.

Trail Trekkers 3 won the oldest age division with entries. The threesome of Patti Fialek, Jeannie McClain and Julie Hazekamp took the 163-182 years age group with 184 points and a time of 1:40.18.0.

The race served as a fundraiser for the Muskegon Community College Cross Country program and drew about 75 runners, according to Fishel.