Nov. 15, 2020 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College’s cross country teams made history Saturday, with both teams finishing in the top 10 at the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championships.
Head Coach Matt Sicilia shares what happened on the course in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Both Men’s and Women’s Raiders squads earned their way to this year’s National Championships by winning the Great Lakes Regional. Here is his report:
The teams arrived in Iowa on Thursday, giving two days to mentally prepare to run to their true potential in the 2020 season’s grand finale. All the physical “hay was in the barn,” so the team got to enjoy an area park, some great pizza, and the world’s largest grotto sculpture.
On Championship Day, the women’s 5K race was first. The fourth-ranked Raiders looked to run in two separate packs to increase their comfort level in unfamiliar grounds and competition. As the cannon blasted, the ladies were off!
Within the first half mile, Kiah Becker and Audrey Meyering positioned themselves in the top 20, exactly according to the pre-race plan. About 20 seconds back, Carolanne Merlington, Kate DeLeeuw and Liz Meyering were out a little more conservatively, positioned about 50th.
Allison Hoop was close behind, with Alexa Webster was a few more seconds back. By the mile mark, the women were starting to slowly move up the field and were in sixth position in the team results, one spot behind Michigan Community College Athletic Association rival St. Clair Community College and 70 points out of third place, the last trophy position.
The women continued to move up the field in the middle mile, as Audrey Meyering moved into 10th position with Becker in the pack behind, still inside the top 20 runners.
The Raiders next group was starting to split up, with Liz Meyering doing “Liz things” by picking off her competitors one at a time and propelling herself into the top 40. Merlington and De Leeuw were about a second apart about 10 seconds in back of Liz Meyering. Hoop and Webster were also maintaining their positions. The team had moved into fourth position in the team results and was 40 points out of third.
The pre-race plan called for the women to make one final push at the 4K mark and they executed with heart and pure guts.
Down the final stretch, the women sprinted for home with every fiber of their muscles. Audrey Meyering closed extremely well, moving up to 8th place and earning NJCAA second-team All American honors in a new personal best time of 19:51. Less than 20 seconds behind, Becker finished in 16th position in a collegiate-best time of 20:09. Becker’s performance garnered her USTFCCCA Coaches Association All-American status.
Just over 30 seconds back, Liz Meyering flew down the home stretch, passing runners all the way to finish in a collegiate best time of 20:53, good for 32nd place, only seven spots off of the final All-American spot. Merlington and De Leeuw ground down the finishing stretch to both finish inside the top-50 runners. Finally, Hoop and Webster ran down the stretch on oxygen deprived legs to finish in 65th and 77th positions, respectively.
The women Raiders final score of 125 points were a mere 22 points behind third place Hawkeye Community College.
In the finish area, tears of both joy and exhaustion flowed freely -- each member of the team knew they had given their all.
The races capped off the most successful season in the program’s history. The women ran they best team race of the season on the biggest stage, with Audrey Meyering and Webster setting all time personal records, Becker and Liz Meyering setting collegiate personal records, and the team setting a school record for total team time.
The men’s team entered the “granddaddy of them all” down three of its former top-five runners, but the remaining varsity squad was striving for a top-10 finish against the odds.
With the blast of the cannon, the men’s 8k race was off! As he had all season, Josh Kipkoech surged to the front group, positioning himself in the middle of the lead pack of seven runners who went through the mile mark in a swift 5:01. Kipkoech had high hopes to earn the Raiders an individual National Championship and set himself in perfect position to give himself a chance.
Behind our fearless leader, the five other Raiders were running on a mission. The goal was to get out very hard and hold on for dear life once the pain of the grueling 8k race started to set in. Jack Kehoe was positioned just outside the top 30, giving himself a chance to be finish as an All-American, or top-25 finisher. Gabe Sanchez, followed by the triad of Ashton Brennan, Noah Peterson and Devin Simon were all close in tow, as the Raiders were in sixth place at the mile mark.
Between the mile and the 5K, Kipkoech stayed with the lead group that was now down to five. The rest of the squad settled into a slightly more comfortable pace in the middle miles, with the team falling back to ninth place overall by the two-mile mark.
The men ran with pure grit in the race’s second half, each holding their position.
Up front, Kipkoech fell off the lead pack at about the 3.5-mile mark and tried to regroup for a strong finish. He sprinted down the final stretch to finish in fifth place overall, earning him NJCAA DII first-team All-American status in a blazing time of 25:28.
Just over two minutes later, Kehoe forced his exhausted body to shift a gear in the homestretch, passing one runner to finish in his second-best time of 27:54, good for 42nd place.
Sanchez, then Peterson and Brennan, and finally Simon all charged down the finishing stretch. Sanchez, Brennan, and Simon all finished in personal record times, as the men finished in ninth place overall, accomplishing its goal of a top-10 finish! This was the best overall race for the team this season and it came on the biggest stage.