Grand Rapids, Mich. - Competing in one of the largest meets of the season, the Alma College men's and women's cross country teams had respectable showings at the Knight Invitational, hosted by Calvin College. The women placed 14th out of 25 teams, while the men finished 21st out of 28 squads.
For the men, senior Adam Sanchez (Alma, Mich./Alma) paced the Scots with a 18th-place finish, crossing the line in 25:51. The winner of the men's race,
Allegheny's Logan Steiner, finished in 25:01. Freshman Justin Jones (Cedar Springs, Mich./Cedar Springs) crossed the line in 28:30, while junior Charlie Clark (Beal City, Mich./Beal City) came in right behind in 28:30.
In the women's race, junior Kaitlyn Arnold (Jackson, MIch./Northwest) raced to a 10th-place finish in 18:35 to lead Alma, while sophomore Chelse Van Spronsen (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) completed the course in 19:50 to place 70th. Freshman Mallory Munderloh (St. Louis, Mich./St. Louis) added a time of 19:57 to place 76th. Calvin's Lauren Strohbehn won the race in 17:55.
The Scots will take a week off before traveling to Holland, Mich., to compete in the MIAA Jamboree at Hope College. Race time is slated for 11:00 a.m. at the West Ottawa Golf Course.
RESULTS
Alma Men's Results
18th - Adam Sanchez - 25:51
130th - Justin Jones - 28:30
131st - Charles Clark - 28:33
142nd - Jamey Paron - 29:03
153rd - Ryan Weaver - 29:32
161st - Calvin Scott - 29:59
162nd - Anthony Pizzo - 30:01
Alma Women's Results
10th - Kaitlyn Arnold - 18:35
70th - Chelse Van Spronsen - 19:50
76th - Mallory Munderloh - 19:57
98th - Hannah Garn - 20:22
112th - Hannah Thayer - 20:45
130th - Brooke Vande Polder - 21:28
136th - Kaila Black - 21:49
Other Scot competitors
Annisa Keeler - 21:50
Madison Nelson - 21:52
Laura Kelly - 21:57
Kara Giles - 22:00
Paige Pontiuos - 22:10
Shannon Kievit - 22:24
Lauren Kucharczyk - 23:27
Alexandra Bieri - 24:04
QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Chovanec
On the meet:
"I'm very pleased with how things are progressing. We are a very young team and we are learning a lot with every meet. With the size of this meet and the number of teams that will be in our regional we gained a lot of experience. We are progressing in the right direction and I'm happy with where we are at this point. It's a matter of learning and improving and gaining the experience we need to get better. I look forward to the rest of the season with this team if it keeps going this way."
Contact: Paul Thomas (989-463-7114, thomaspw@alma.edu)
