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Muskegon, Mich. -- The Raider Cross Country team rolled into Muskegon, Saturday October 17th, with high hopes of running aggressively and getting out fast against the highest-quality field of the season. For the first time all season, the teams got to run a fast course (on the University Park Golf Course) with a near optimal racing temperature of 50 degrees. Despite hopes for dry and windless conditions, first the wind and then the rain picked up right before race time.

The 8th ranked men's team kicked things off- facing a handful of NAIA and NCAA DIII teams, including Coach Sicilia's alma mater and national power Calvin University. NCAA DI Eastern Michigan also sent a handful of runners who ran as non-scoring individuals. The Raiders were without one it's top runners, freshman Wilson Ishimwe, sitting this one out with a lower leg injury. Lance Jourdan, Gabriel Sanchez, Noah Peterson, Ashton Brennan and Devin Simon looked to carry the piano (the team's motto) in his place today.

The men got off the line fast as they cruised effortlessly through the first mile. Three time invite champ, Joshua Kipkoech, glided along in about seventh place behind the EMU runners and among two Calvin Knights. Jack Kehoe was running very strong in about 20th, while Lance, Gabe, and then Noah, Ashton and Devin ran together in the middle of the 115 runner field. Cesar Vargas Martinez looked great with Rafael Vega close behind and Joe Williams was out quicker than usual too. So far, so good for the Raiders.

At the 5k mark, Kipkoech was in between a group of three Calvin runners in ninth place.  Behind him, Kehoe was falling off his pace slightly and now running in about 30th. Jourdan was all alone about 20 seconds back while Peterson & Brennan ran side-by-side closely behind. Sanchez and Simon had fallen off the aggressive early pace.

Most of the Raiders held their positions the last mile with the exception of Sanchez who put on a late charge to move up a few spots. Kipkoech crossed the line in a time of 25:22, good enough for ninth place overall and over 90 seconds ahead of the next MCCAA runner. His swift time was the fastest ever by a Raider, breaking Sam Borisch's school record by 30 seconds. Sicilia said, "This was a great experience for Josh and will help him tremendously in preparation for the NJCAA National Championships only four weeks away."

Just over two minutes after Kipkoech, Kehoe crossed the line in a personal best time of 27:33, good for 34th overall and fifth among MCCAA competitors. Rounding out the scoring finishers for the Raiders were Jourdan, Sanchez and Peterson, in 51st, 62nd and 65th respectively. Brennan and Martinez also had strong races - both running PRs (personal record). Cesar's time of 32:22 was over 90 seconds faster than his previous best.

The Raiders finished with 124 points - finishing in 4th out of 10 full teams and first among MCCAA competition. Jackson College ran their best race of the year, finishing 28 points back of the Raiders. Calvin won the meet in dominating fashion, with a minuscule score of 28 points.

The 4th ranked ladies toed the line next against a stellar field. Two primary goals were to race more aggressively in the first mile and close the gap between the 4th and 5th runner, which has been as large as a full minute in recent races.

The ladies positioned themselves well in the opening mile with freshman Audrey Meyering leading the charge In about 10th place overall with three time champ Kiah Becker close behind. Carolanne Merlington and Kate De Leeuw were about ten seconds back in about 20th while Allison Hoop, Liz Meyering and Paige Bodine were about another ten seconds back.

At the halfway point, Audrey - surrounded by a swarm of Calvin runners- started to pull away from Becker, while Merlington made a strong mid-race push up the ranks trying to catch Becker. Just behind, Liz and Allison looked strong and slowly closed the gap to a slightly fading Kate.

 Coming down the stretch, Audrey stopped the clock at 20:06- good for 15th overall and a new all-time personal best. Audrey was the top-MCCAA finisher in the race. Audrey's impressive time was the third fastest in program history. After falling off Audrey's blistering pace, Becker gutted it out to finish in 20:33, her second fastest time as a Raider, and was the 20th overall and second best MCCAA finisher. Merlington finished only 12 seconds back in 20:42- only her second time under 21:00 as a Raider and a season's best. She finished 25th overall and was the 6th fastest MCCAA runner.

Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Raiders were a late charging Liz, who passed De Leeuw in the last quarter mile. The ladies finished in 36th and 37th overall, and 10th & 11th among MCCAA competition. Both Liz (21:23) and De Leeuw (21:25) finished in season best times, with Kate's being an all time personal best. More importantly, the gap for the whole team was less than 80 seconds, a season's best.

Only a few seconds later, Hoop ran her best performance as a Raider, finishing in a time of 21:35. Also turning in season best performances were Bree Bonnema, Alex Webster, Mariah Vos (all-time PR) and Jen Franz.

The Lady Raiders finished third out of ten teams and held off NJCAA nationally ranked conference rivals St. Clair (4th) and Jackson College (6th). Calvin's women were also victorious, scoring a near-perfect 17 points. Their team average time of 20:50 (for the top-5 scorers) set a school record, breaking the record set at last year's Lansing Invite by a whopping 20 seconds per runner.

The Raiders now turn their attention to an important intra-squad time trial next Friday. The men will run a 5k, while the ladies will complete 2M on the track. Both squads will then prepare for the NJCAA Region XII championships in Lansing on Saturday, Oct. 31. Only the top-7 can compete at Regionals and Nationals so Saturday's race along with the time trial - will have a major impact on who will compete in the Championship races.

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