Grand Rapids, Michigan - Many of the top cross country programs from around the NAIA made their yearly pilgrimage to Riverside Park on Saturday morning to participate in the annual NAIA Great Lakes Challenge. The event, which is hosted by Aquinas College, remains the biggest stand alone NAIA-only event in any competitive sport (excluding National Championships). The Saints, who placed 12th overall with 300 points, found themselves on the wrong end of a four team cluster that were separated by only 25 points.
In the Maroon Race,
Juan David Hernandez Avila led the way for the Saints by finishing 34th overall in a time of 25:03. The duo of
Andrew Stern (25:18) and
Brian Langlois (25:20) followed JD through the finish chute as they placed 48th and 53rd respectively. The next two scoring positions were turned in by
Shema Reponse (78th place) and
Carson Lafferty (90th place). The two crossed the line in 25:39 and 25:47 to round out the scoring for the Saints. The team time of 2:07:09 was the tenth fastest recorded in Aquinas men's cross country history.
A total of 207 individuals competed for 23 different institutions in the first men's race of the day.
In the White Race, the Saints attack was paced by the one-two punch of
Sam Elder (27:15) and
Jack Phillips (27:43). The duo finished 63rd and 95th respectively.
Isaac Boire 113th place - (27:59) and
Joe Treadwell (130th place 28:18) crossed the finish line next for the Saints.
Christian Martinez-Ramos rounded out the scoring for the Saints in a time of 28:23 to place 137th overall. The Saints totaled 451 points and placed 16th as a team in the white race.
In the second men's race of the day a total of 282 individuals competed for 29 different institutions.
The Saints will return to action on November 7th when they travel to Adrian, Michigan. The WHAC Men's Cross Country Championships will be contested at Heritage Park, with the men starting at 3pm.
