Oct. 31, 2020, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College’s cross country teams are headed to the national championships after both teams won state and regional titles Saturday in Lansing.
The Raiders earned Michigan Community College Athletic Association and National Junior College Athletic Association DII, Region XII titles, the first since the rebirth of the program in 2014.
GRCC student-athletes earned individual honors as well, with Josh Kipkoech winning his fourth race of the season and Audrey Meyering winning her second.
The women’s team stepped to the line first. After finishing with top honors among MCCAA competition during the regular season, the ladies looked to hold off NJCAA DII top-10 ranked Jackson College (ninth) and St. Clair Community College (fifth).
As the starting gun smoke cleared, it was obvious the Raiders came to race. Six GRCC runners were positioned in the top 22 at the mile mark. Meyering led the race, running side-by-side with Jackson’s top runner. A few seconds back, Kiah Becker positioned herself in the chase pack, with Carolanne Merlington close behind. The three-headed monster of Kate De Leeuw, Liz Merlington and Allison Hoop were about five seconds back.
At the halfway point, Meyering made her move, putting a 10-second gap on the second runner in just over a half mile. Becker was uncharacteristically struggling to breathe, but still held onto a top-five spot. Liz Merlington and De Leeuw Kate also made a strong push into the top-12, catching Carolanne Merlington as all three girls strained toward the finish.
Meyering pulled away for a dominating Conference and Regional championship performance in 20:21, a 22-second gap over the runner-up from Jackson. Becker held on for a sixth-place finish, Liz Merlington kicked home to finish ninth, with Carolanne Merlington 11th and De Leeuw 12th. Hoop faded just a little, bit still held on for 21st and 17th among DII schools.
The women's team score of 39 outpaced runner-up St. Clair by 23 points, earning the MCCAA and Region XII titles
The men got off the line a little conservatively, but settled into a nice rhythm by the mile mark.
As he has all season, Kipkoech got off to a strong start, co-leading the race alongside St. Clair’s top runner. Twenty seconds back, Lance Jourdan and Gabe Sanchez ran within a second in the mid-teens.. Jack Kehoe, then Noah Peterson and Ashton Brennan followed behind in about 20-25th place. The team race was neck-and-neck as the Jackson team got out very quick and the Raiders may have been slightly behind.
At the 5k mark, Kipkoech surged ahead on his own, gapping the St. Clair runner. Kehoe looked a little out of it, struggling with breathing issues while falling out of the top 20. The other Raiders must have sensed their teammate’s struggles and picked up the pace.
Sanchez led Jourdan, as both moved up into 12th position, while Peterson made a strong move, surging into the top 20. The Jackson runners were slightly fading, vaulting the Raiders into a narrow lead.
Kipkoech pulled away to win convincingly in a strong time of 26:10, a full minute ahead of the runner up from St. Clair. Jourdan bravely shifted gears with a little over a quarter mile left, passing Jackson’s number two runner in process and finishing in eighth place.
Sanchez sprinted across the line 12 seconds later in 13th place. Peterson was closing on Jackson’s number four runner, but ran out of race course to finish in 18th. Despite the breathing issues, Kehoe held onto the all-important 5th runner position to finish 30th.
The Raiders team score of 67 was 6 points better than an inspired Jackson squad to take home the titles.
Both squads look ahead to two more weeks of training and look to peak for the NJCAA DII National Championships on Nov. 14 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The race is hosted by Iowa Central Community