Muskegon, MI - The Grace Tigers cross country team finished out their regular season at the Jayhawk Invitational hosted by Muskegon Community College this past Saturday. The team had an excellent race day with several season records and personal bests.
The men's team, led by freshman Caleb Anderson (Wyoming, MI), ran a new lifetime personal record for the 8k in 29:22, followed shortly by sophomore Ian Hinkle (Grand Ledge, MI), who ran a 29:55. Shortly after, sophomore Jude Vargo (Penn Hills, PA) ran a 33:31, establishing a new personal best and landing an individual qualifying spot at the NCCAA National Championships next month. Freshman Marshall Gonzalez (San Antonio, TX) rounded out the finishes for the Tigers.
The women's team was led by senior Maty Deneui (Fenton, MI), who has continued to get stronger throughout the last several weeks, with a season record 5k time of 21:26, nine seconds off of her overall personal record. Deneui was followed by junior Kristina Brandenburg (Twin Lake, MI) with her own new personal record time of 22:19. Freshman Sayla Bender (Kingsley, MI) was third across the line for Grace, setting a season personal best as well, with a time of 22:44. Cracking the scoring column for the Tigers for the first time as their fourth runner was freshman Grace Salminen (Traverse City, MI) with a time of 26:08, with sophomore Aura Fleis (Republic, MI) rounding out scoring for Grace with a time of 26:50.
With the conclusion of the regular season, the cross country teams are excited to compete together during the championship portion of their season. First up will be the NCCAA DII Midwest/North Regional Championship meet in Dubuque, Iowa on October 24. Then the team will turn its attention to the NCCAA National Championships in Joplin, Missouri on November 14. The cross country runners support each other relentlessly—whether they're moments from racing or recovering at the finish line—because they all believe in the incredible potential they see in themselves, so it should be an exciting upcoming few weeks for the Tigers.
