LocalSportsJournal.com
PORTAGE – The Western Michigan Christian girls cross country team finished second in Division 4 of the Portage Cross Country Invitational.
Johannesburg-Lewiston finished atop the team standings with 74 points. WM Christian was second with 85, followed by Whitmore Lake with 112, Gobles at 126 and Buckley with 177.
The Warriors were led by junior Grace Vanderkooi, who finished third with a personal best time of 18:24.7. Senior Eleanor Kingshott finished 17 with a personal best of 20:17.6. Freshman Leah Sneller was 18th in 20:20.2, senior Grace Folkema was 23rd in 20:44.1 and freshman Kaylie Riksen ran a personal best time of 20:44.1 and finished 23rd.
“Today we got the opportunity to square off with nine other teams ranked in the top 15 in the state coaches’ poll, and the race did not disappoint,” said Warrior coach Greg Gould. “The girls did a great job sticking to the race plan and racked up four personal records among seven varsity runners.”
In the boys’ race, Hillsdale Academy finished first with 96 points, followed by Johannesburg-Lewiston with 114 and Saugatuck with 140. The Western Michigan Christian boys came in seven with 202 points.
The Warriors’ top finisher was junior Matthias Morse who was eighth with a time of 16:27.3. Freshman Owen Sytsema ran a personal best of 17:52.1, which was good for 41st place. Reuben Anderson, a sophomore, was 55th in 18:20.6, Danny Maat was 56th in 18:29.6 (personal best) and Demitri Lawrence was 66th with a personal best time of 18:49.1.
The race featured 10 of the top 15 teams in the coaches’ poll.
“This was a big step in the direction we need to go to be a contender to advance to the state final from the regional in a few weeks,” Gould said. “We look forward to another week of preparation for those targets and competing at the GMAA Championships next Saturday.”
