XC Results: Sept. 18
Grace Races At Bullock Invite
Grace’s cross country teams competed well against stiff competition at Taylor’s Ray Bullock Invitational on Friday.
The women placed fifth out of 14 teams, and the men’s squad was sixth overall.
In a race with 135 runners, the Lady Lancers had two runners finish in the top seven. Freshman Mallory Hiatt ran a strong race with a time of 18:35, which placed fifth. Heather Plastow earned a seventh-place showing with a time of 18:50.
Kaelyn Johnson was third for Grace at 20:20 (49th place), and Makenzie Adams (20:39) and Elizabeth Moore (20:45) finished back-to-back.
The next three runners for Grace ended in quick succession, including Anna Hulstedt (21:25), Weslea Arthur (21:31) and Ellie Wagoner (21:39).
“The ladies ran awesome. They approached this race more conservatively and executed their game plan very well,” said Grace head coach Jake Poyner. “There is still a lot of room for growth, but their youth is not holding them back.”
On the men’s side, Bryan Hernandez-Rios paced the team in a time of 26:21, good for 17th out of 157 runners.
Grace’s next three runners finished in a tight pack. Dimitri Margaritidis crossed the finish line in 27:10, and Logan Rufenacht (27:15) and Isaac Beatty (27:18) were right on his heels.
Peter Simmon posted a time of 27:48, and a pair of freshmen followed in Macallister Cheek (27:53) and Hayden Mullett (28:05). Matt Halbakken was not far behind that group in 28:17.
“The men continue to learn more about themselves, individually and as a team. It’s more challenging physically to race two 8ks in the span of seven days than you might think,” Poyner added. “We did that intentionally to lay on the physiological stress, knowing once these guys can recover, they will reap the benefits down the line. I’m always the most proud of all our athletes when their character, attention to detail and camaraderie show in moments like this.”
To see complete race results, click here.
The Lancers return to competition on Oct. 2 with the Huntington Invitational.