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Grayling, Mich. -- The men's and women's cross country teams have reached the midway point of the season, and after victories on October 2, both teams have now won all three meets they have competed in. Friday's race saw the men coming out with a 44 point victory and the women by 13 points.

Running at Grayling's Hanson Hills Ski Area in near perfect fall conditions, the top-10 nationally ranked Raider XC squads looked forward to a challenging course at the Kirtland Community College Invitational.

The men kicked things off in the typical 8k race distance around the base of the ski hills with three trips halfway up one of the smaller slopes mixed in for an additional challenge. The men positioned themselves up well in the first mile, with Joshua Kipkoech pacing Jack Kehoe in the lead group of five runners. Next was Wilson Ishimwe and Lance Jourdan who were cozied up in a pack around 10th place. Four other Raiders were all close behind, all in the top 25.

Around the 5k mark, Kipkoech made his move and immediately gapped the field. Kehoe tried to hold on in around fifth position, while Ishimwe and Jourdan held steady around 10th. Close behind, Peterson threw in a huge surge and moved into the top 20.

Kipkoech, the freshman standout who already won the two previous races, sprinted down the ski hill to another victory in a season best time of 27:08. Kehoe faded a little down the stretch to a still-strong 6th place finish. Less than 15 seconds back, Jourdan, Ishimwe and Macomb's top runner were sprinting step-for-step toward the finish. Despite getting nipped at the line by the Macomb runner, both Raiders ran huge personal best performances to a 9th and 10th place finish, respectively. Thirty seconds back, Peterson charged hard to the finish in a 90-second personal best time, and 17th place finish. Thanks to the unselfish pacing of Gabe Sanchez and Ashton Brennen, they also ran personal best times, finishing in the top 30.

The men's team won its third consecutive Invite against MCCAA competition- scoring 43 points againt 13 teams in the competition. Runner up Jackson finished a distant second with 87 points, while Macomb (113), St. Clair (115) and Oakland (151) rounded out the top 5 teams.

The ladies strided to the start line at Ski Area with tremendous confidence after winning its previous two MCCAA Conference meets. At the gun, the ladies positioned themselves almost perfectly according to the preface plan. At the mile mark, Audrey Meyering, Kiah Becker and Kate De Leeuw were tucked into a pack of seven runners at the lead of the 5k race. Carolanne Merlington was only a couple seconds back and used a surge up the sandy ski hill to join the leading group. About ten seconds back was the group of Allison Hoop, Elizabeth Meyering, and Paige Bodine. Another 12 seconds back were a group of four more Raiders.

The lead group stayed together until just after the two-mile mark, when Becker made her decisive move. Just a few steps back, Audrey and Merlington maintained their positions while De Leeuw fell back a couple of places. Behind, Liz and Hoop pushed on toward the finish, both still inside the top-20 and Mariah Vos made a huge move at the mile and half mark to bridge the gap to freshman Bree Bonnema.

The final quarter mile of the race runs partway up a ski hill, much of it sand, and then straight back down before turning onto the final straightaway. Audrey held dearly onto second going up the hill but was out sprinted by her three nearest competitors to finish 5th. Less than five seconds back, Merlington ran a season's best to finish one spot back in 6th. De Leeuw regrouped to finish strong in 9th, while Liz and Hoop also finished in the top-20 in 17th and 18th, respectively.

The ladies earned the team title with 38 points, narrowly holding off a strong St. Clair team (51 points). Jackson ran a strong third with 75 points. Kellogg (117) and Mott (157) rounded out the top five.

Both teams will get back to work the next two weeks in preparation for the Muskegon Jayhawk Invite on October 17th. That race will provide the best competition the team will see before the National Championships next month.

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