LocalSportsJournal.com
GRAND RAPIDS – The Western Michigan Christian girls’ cross country team claimed the third Alliance League jamboree on Tuesday with a one-point victory over Grand Rapids West Michigan Aviation.
The Warriors, led by individual winner Grace VanderKooi, finished with 28 points. GR West Michigan Aviation had 29, followed by Potters House with 79, Grand River Prep with 111 and Wyoming Lee with 131.
Western Michigan Christian also got strong performances from freshman Leah Sneller, who finished third at 22:21.12, Eleanor Kingshott in sixth at 22:57.55 and Grace Folkema, who was seventh in 22:57.57. Morgan Lawrence rounded out the Warriors’ finishers with a 12th-place finish in 24:08.13.
“We have been trading victories with Aviation all season and it has helped keep us engaged in the races while also working on some team-oriented racing tactics,” said WMC coach Greg Gould. “The coaches really liked how we stayed in pretty good contact with one another behind Grace VanderKooi today.”
Muskegon Catholic did not field a full team and did not figure in the team scoring.
In the boys’ race, GR West Michigan Aviation finished with 43 points, two ahead of Western Michigan Christian at 45. Tri-Unity Christian came in third with 82 followed by Potters House with 85 and Grand River Prep with 116. Muskegon Catholic did not field a full team.
Warrior Matthias Morse was the overall winner in the boys’ race with a time of 18:08.42. It was Morse first-ever individual title. Graeson Lawrence finished 12th in 19:30.87, Reuben Anderson was 13th in 19:35.25, Owen Sytsema was 15th in 19:42.19 and Ryer Campbell was 16th in 19:49.17.
“The boys have really started to round into an exciting group to watch compete,” Gould said. “We did a decent job running together in last week’s meet but today they were able to take that up another notch and close the gap on Aviation.”
Muskegon Catholic’s top runners both finished in the Top 10. Jacob Lyonnais was sixth with a time of 18:53.77 and Owen Lyonnais was ninth in 19:10.66.
