Kingsley, MI - The Grace Christian University Cross Country program is excited to announce the addition of Sayla Bender, a standout distance runner from Kingsley High School. The daughter of Matt and Shanda Bender, she will be pursuing a degree in elementary education during her studies at Grace.
Bender has excelled in both cross country and track during her time at Kingsley. In cross country, she has a personal record (PR) of 21:49. On the track, she has excelled at every distance from the 400m up to the 3200m run. Her track PRs include a 1:07 400m time, a 2:41 800m, 6:03 in the mile (1600m), and a time of 14:03 in the 3200m. Most of these PRs have come during her senior year, which suggests the best is yet to come for Bender. She has also received student-athlete of the week, academic all-conference, and athletic all-conference honors in both cross country and track during her high school career.
At her national letter of intent signing ceremony on Friday, Bender spoke about what she has learned from her time in athletics. "I have learned to work hard and never give up," commented Bender. "I have had many different coaches, but my favorite was my assistant coach Joy Riest. She really helped me and was a great example." Bender added that it was her Grandpa who first told her about Grace Christian University and she really liked Grace when she came for a visit earlier this year. "I want to keep improving my times and being the best I can be at Grace," added Bender.
Grace Coach Gerry Verwey is really excited that Bender chose to become a part of the Tiger family. He stated, "I often know as soon as I meet a potential recruit whether or not they are a perfect fit for us and I knew immediately that Sayla was perfect for our team. She is kind, selfless, hard working, fast, and academically gifted. I love that she wants to go into education to be a role model for young students who will greatly benefit from her caring and supportive demeanor." Verwey added, "She has the potential to be one of our top runners this fall and I'm excited to see her flourish among some pretty amazing teammates she will have as a Tiger."
