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Oct. 26, 2024, GOODELLS, Mich. -- The sixth ranked Grand Rapids Community College women's cross country team dominated its competition on Saturday, leaving with its third regional championship and second MCCAA title.  The 15th ranked men's team finished fourth in its competition and back in Grand Rapids, the women's volleyball team swept Alpena Community College on sophomore night. 

Women's XC Recap:

Four Raiders finished inside the top-10, all earning All-MCCAA and All-Region honors, helping GRCC to a dominating 30 point win over the next best team in the competition, 8th ranked Lansing Community College. 

Elicia Land led the Raiders, finishing in third place overall after a personal record time of 19:26.  Anna Tubbergen was right on her heels, finishing fourth with a time of 19:31.  Olivia Lemke had a PR time of 19:38 to finish sixth and Gloria Gaston finished in seventh with a PR time of 19:51. Gaston had the biggest improvement of all four Raiders that set PR's, dropping 29 seconds off her previous PR.

Sophomore Mariana Zaragoza rounded out the scoring for the Raiders with a personal record 21:06 to finish 21st. 

Coach Sharon Becker was also named the MCCAA Coach of the Year after leading her team to the MCCAA title, and also the Region Coach of the Year, which was voted on by all the coaches in the region. 

Coaches Comments:

"The women's team has been working so hard all season long.  They sacrifice a lot and are very disciplined, so I'm excited for them that all the hard work was rewarded with their first lace finish that they deserved.  The leadership from both Anna and Elicia is a significant reason for the success.  Both Anna and Elicia are an example to the others of hard work and discipline. We were so blessed to have Gloria back.  She proved through cross training very diligently tha she is in the best shape or better than if she would've been if she tried to continue to run through with injury.  Because she was so diligent and disciplined with her cross training, and with her recovering she was able to run her personal best today.  Olivia also ran a PR-lifetime fastest!  Also a key was our fifth runner, Mariana who stepped it up with a PR of her own.  Mariana was told that she would not be able to run as fast as she did before her knee surgery until at least two years later, so for her to already run faster than before her knee surgery is incredible and shows her determination, resilience, and toughness.  I am super happy for our team!"

Men's XC Recap:

The men's cross country team, ranked 15th in the country, finished fourth overall in both the MCCAA and Region XII Championships.  No. 2 ranked Lansing, No. 20 Macomb and No. 13 St. Clair County finished 1-2-3.  11th ranked Mott was fifth, 16 points behind GRCC. 

Issac Skinner and Joseph VanderKooi both earned All-MCCAA honors after top-20 performances.  VanderKooi finished with a time of 26:56 and Skinner finished with a personal record of 27:00.

John DiPiazza also set a PR with a time of 27:45.  Nate Fahey, 28:11, and Haegan Land, 28:33, rounded out the Raiders scorers.  

Coaches Comments:

"It is definitely championship season.  We were ranked fourth in region and beat one of the top three teams, but got caught by one that was ranked below us.  At this level, it is literally the difference of one place per runner.  We executed our game plan perfectly.  Our top two guys started together and moved to the race.  Our next two guys ran together for over half the race, and then we had our large chase pack that stayed together all the way to the finish line.  We just needed to be a place or two better for each one of our guys. Overall though I'm pretty pleased with where we started and where we are at this point.  Now we just to focus to finish with everything we have at the national meet." 

Volleyball Recap:

It was definitely an unforgettable night for many reasons at Hunsberger Arena on Friday night.  Not only was it a celebration for all nine of the teams sophomores, but it was the first time fans saw a new libero on the court for the Raiders, and both of the teams regular liberos even got to play in the front row.

The game plan going in was that the sophomores would play all of the first set and they didn't disappoint, scoring 16 points in a row at one point and winning 25-9.  The freshmen got to play the second set, and they outdid the sophomores, only giving up six points to the visitors from Alpena. 

In the third set where the Raiders won 25-19, sophomore Meredith Simmons got to play libero the entire set, and liberos Sylvia Peterson and Cece Huizingh got to play as an outside hitter.  Huizingh was even able to pick up her first kill on the year.  

It was another balanced score sheet as all 18 players played significant roles in the sweep. The former North Muskegon teammates, Joslynne Bogner and Sami Baker had fantastic nights.  Baker led the team with 14 assists and added five digs and a kill.  Bogner hit a staggering .556 with six kills on nine attempts.

Lizzie MacIntosh led the team with 10 digs.  Sylvia Peterson led the team with four aces.  Sophomore middles, Lilly Peterson and Sophia Ritsema led the team with three blocks.

The 12th ranked Raiders will play its final home match of the season Oct. 26 at 1pm against Bay College.  

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