By: Landry Long | Contributor
The Taylor men's and women's cross country teams competed in the loaded Great Lakes Invitational this past Saturday as they begin to close out their seasons.
The meet, which was held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, included six Top-20 ranked teams on the men's side. The women's race included 296 runners and featured No. 2 ranked Aquinas. While the No. 17 ranked men's team finished fifth overall, the No. 4 ranked women's team took home second place, only behind Aquinas by four points.
Leading the charge for the Trojan men's team was junior Matt Hall. His time of 25:58.17 was good enough to earn All-Great Lakes Invite honors, and a sixth-place finish overall. The Trojans also saw an impressive performance from sophomore Stephen Cho.
"It was definitely a tough one for us," Cho said. "But we learned a lot and are looking to bounce back in two weeks. Being the number two runner, I needed to have stepped up a bit more. But I'll be ready next race."
The lady Trojans once again saw an imposing performance from sophomore Alex Berends, who posted a win with an overall time of 18:20.76. Berends was named the Crossroads League Female Runner of the Week following her performance on Saturday. Berends has earned this title in nine out of 10 career races. This is the fourth time she has been given the award this season.
"I knew beforehand that there were going to be a couple of other girls right around my pace, so I was on the lookout for them from the beginning," said Berends. "This was definitely a race to worry about the competition, not the clock, and I felt like I competed well."
Berends' performance was complemented by a seventh place finish by senior Jane Hawks and a twelfth place finish by Hannah Schroder. Hawks posted a time of 19:04.92 and Schroder ran for a time of 19:15.60.
Both teams lace up this Saturday at Huntington University for the Crossroads League Championship. The races begin at 10:30 a.m.Photograph provided by TU Sports Information Department
