The first NJCAA National Championship took place in 1959. In the early years, the race was 3 to 5 miles long, depending on the course and in 1975 the NJCAA mandated 5 mile (8k) races. The Raiders finished runner-up in the fifth ever event in 1963 and had four runners finish in the top-20. In 1962, Jim Kidder ran a 16:09 and finished second overall, just two seconds off the champion. All-American Rob Cool raced to a third place finish in 1969 and then fourth place the following year.
GRCC retired cross country after the 1993 season, but added the program back during the 2014-15 school year. Between 2016-2018, the Raiders participated at the Division I National Championships (all being 8k's), finishing in the top 25 all three years. In 2020, the Raiders competed at the Division lI level again, this time finishing 9th at nationals.
In addition to Cool, five other Raiders have been named NJCAA All-American. Trevor Smith was All-American in 1991 and 1992 after 3rd and 10th place finishes in the DII National Championships. Dennis Martin was also an All-American in 1991 after a 10th place finish. Sam Borisch earned a spot on the team after a 36th place finish at the DI National Championships in 2018. Josh Kipkoech placed 5th at Nationals in 2020 and earned 1st Team All-American and repeated as a first teamer with an 11th place finish in 2021. Coleman Clark was also an All-American in 2021, finishing in 13th place... For a complete list of all individual post season awards, click here.
For a Season In Review summary for every year click here.
MCCAA Champions:
1959
1963
1967
1969
2020
Region XII Champions:
1967
1969
2020
NJCAA National Championships Participation:
(click on year, to see complete results and how many miles the course was)
1961 -
7th Place (of 13 teams), 140 score - 17:34 average, placed 2nd best in Region (Flint won title)
1963 -
Runner-Up (of 11), 79 score (3,9,13,15,39) - 18:11 average, placed 2nd best in Region (Muskegon won title)
1964 -
11th Place (of 13), 271 score - 17:50 average, placed 4th best in Region (Muskegon won title)
1967 -
8th Place (of 19), 214 score - 17:03 average, placed 2nd best in Region (Vincennes finished 3rd)
1969 -
4th Place (Tied) (of 10), 177 score - 26:08 average, placed 2nd best in Region (Vincennes won title)
1970 -
20th Place (of 20), 457 score - placed 6th best in Region (Vincennes finished 3rd)
1971 -
14th Place (of 20), 384 score - placed 4th best in Region (Vincennes won title)
1976 -
12th Place (of 29), 357 score - placed 3rd best in Region (SW Michigan finished 3rd)
1981 -
14th Place (of 22), 300 score - placed 2nd best in Region (SW Michigan won title)
1982 -
16th Place (of 26), 393 score - placed 2nd best in Region (SW Michigan finished 3rd)
2016 -
16th Place (of 40), 477 score (50,69,113,120,125) - 2:17:47 - 27:33 average, placed 3rd best in Region (Lansing finished 8th)
2017 -
24th Place (of 44), 626 score (79,99,129,152,167) - 2:17:49 - 27:34 average, placed 4th best in Region (Lansing finished 8th)
2018 -
20th Place (of 36), 608 score (36,49,145,162,216) - 2:29:15 - 29:51 average, placed 2nd best in Region (Lansing finished 16th)
2020* -
9th Place (of 19), 247 score (5,41,52,74,75) - 2:19:50 - 27:58 average - placed best in Region
2021* -
7th Place (of 30), 193 score (11,13,45,59,65) - 2:15:46 - 27:09 average - placed 2nd best in Region (Lansing finished 5th)
2022* -
12th Place (of 28), 327 score (5,41,52,74,75) - 2:23:01 - 28:36 average - placed 3rd best in Region (Lansing finished 3rd)
2023* -
25th Place (of 38), 769 score (93,111,143,192,230) - 2:31:33 - 30:19 average - placed 4th best in Region (Lansing won title)
2024* -
14th Place (of 41), 481 score (51,54,83,146,147) - 2:19:42 - 27:56 average - placed 4th best in Region (Lansing won title)
NJCAA National Championships Individual Participation:
1962 - Jim Kidder -
2nd Place (of 62 runners) - 16:09 5k
1974 - Mike Johnson -
36th Place (of 112+ runners) - 25:37
1977 - Phil Steers -
44th Place - 25:22
1991* - Trevor Smith -
3rd Place - 27:26, Dennis Martin -
10th Place - 28:22
1992* - Trevor Smith -
10th Place - 26:44
2019 - Will Westveer -
120th Place (of 344 runners) - 27:16, Matt Converse -
212th Place - 28:37, Jack Kehoe -
238th Place - 29:03
*Division II Meet, all others DI (or single division)
For a complete list of all the Conference and Region Champions click the links below:
MCCAA Past Champions
Region XII Past Champions
For a complete list of all the NJCAA All-Americans click here.
For a complete list of all NJCAA National Championships Team Results, Individual Champions, and Hall of Fame click here.
For a JUCO review of all the past NJCAA National Championships click here.
