LocalSportsJournal.com
The top-ranked Western Michigan Christian girls cross country team captured its first Division 4 state title in school history in convincing fashion on Saturday.
The Warriors, led by four-time individual champion Abby Vanderkooi, outpaced the field with 98 points. Kalamazoo Christian and Rochester Hills Lutheran NW each finished with 157 points. Kalamazoo Christian was awarded second place using the tiebreaker rule.
Vanderkooi finished in a time of 18:06.58, followed by her sister, Grace, who was fifth in 19:28.28. Grace, a freshman, was battling an injury throughout the week and it was determined mid-week whether she would run or not.
WMC runners also finished 24th, 27th and 41st.
Ava Rotman, a senior, came in 24th with a time of 20:41.09, junior Brianna Zuidema was 27th in 20:43.09, and sophomore Eleanor Kingshott was 41st in 21.12.33. Sophomore Grace Folkema rounded out the WMC runners with a 47th-place finish in 21:30.72.
Holton’s Vanessa Peltoniemi ran in the individual portion of the race and finished 113th. Mason County Eastern’s Elizabeth Logan was 150th and Holton’s Aubrey Goyings was 153rd.
