Western Michigan Christian girls win D3 regional cross country title; Warriors put three in top 10

LocalSportsJournal.com

ALLENDALE – Three Western Michigan Christian Warriors finished in the top 10 in Saturday’s Division 3 girls’ regional cross country meet.

That pushed the Warriors to the regional title and a spot in next Saturday’s state final meet at Michigan International Speedway.

Regional champion Grace VanderKooi ran an 18:08.23 to take first place. Morgan Lawrence finished fifth and Leah Sneller earned an eighth-place finish. Kylie Riksen came in 17th and Ellie Riksen rounded out the Warriors’ lineup with a 37th-place finish.

WM Christian won the meet with 68 points, followed by Grand Rapids Covenant Christian with 96 and Grandville Calvin Christian with 112. Other area teams included Newaygo in seventh place, Kent City in ninth, North Muskegon in 11th, Montague in 12th and Ravenna in 14th.

Kent City’s Lila Volkers finished second and teammate Elliana Max was fourth. Newaygo’s top runner was Laura Castrejon, who finished sixth.

TEAM SCORES
1, Western Michigan Christian 68; 2, Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 96; 3, Grandville Calvin Christian 112; 4, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian 139; 5, Saranac 154; 6, Wyoming Potter’s House 177; 7, Newaygo 190; 8, Holland Black River 191; 9, Kent City 199; 10, Olivet 210; 11, North Muskegon 277; 12, Montague 299; 13, Delton-Kellogg 301; 14, Ravenna 350.

WESTERN MICHIGAN CHRISTIAN: 1, Grace VanderKooi 18:08.23; 5, Morgan Lawrence, 19:43.65; 8, Leah Sneller, 20:07.88; 17, Kylie Riksen, 21:02.28; 37, Ellie Riksen, 22:19.39.

NEWAYGO: 6, Laura Castrejon, 19:58.69; 11, Ellason Foster, 20:29.54; 43, Thalia Pineda, 22:51.60; 66, Karissa Carlson, 24:25.81; 68, Emma Lugtenburg, 24:35.76.

KENT CITY: 2, Lila Volkers, 18:15.17; 4, Elliana Max, 18:44.74; 28, Blanca Almarza, 21:50.07; 85, Eden Dixon, 28:01.89; 88, Elin Lee, 29:50.75.

NORTH MUSKEGON: 21, Analeigh Weaver, 21:20.24; 25, Sylvia Skujins, 21;43.15; 74, Katelynn Eldredge, 25:36.54; 76, Addison Reid, 25:39.13; 89, Keyenna West, 31:52.15.

MONTAGUE: 48, Grace Reavey, 23:26.87; 49, Erica Hansen, 23:27.69; 64, April Howard, 25:21.07; 71, Carmen Howard, 25:21.07; 73, Lilou Ruch, 25:28.04.

RAVENNA: 56, Irene Faidi, 23:53.10; 58, Aurora Pelham, 24:02.39; 75, Ximena Yanez, 25:37.95; 86, McKayla Wingate, 28:08.62; 87, Hayley Brust, 28:08.68.

GRANT: 53, Nolana Davis, 23:46.66.