The cross country team recently had a long bus ride to Grand Rapids, Michigan. This meet was the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge that took place this past Saturday. Many top 25 NAIA schools were featured in this race. 

The Pioneers men’s team placed 23 of 27 out of all schools in the Maroon Race. In the Maroon Race, October male athlete of the month Jannick Windelband led the team, running a 26:09. This resulted in a pace of 5:15 per mile. Ramiro Ulunque was next in the race, getting a personal record of 26:38. Freshman Luke McKenna was third for the Pioneers, having run 26:43. All three of these runners were in the top half of all runners. 

Joshua Gosselin rounded out the top five, as he just barely finished outside the 27-minute mark with his final time of 27:04. With 28:23, John Dryar landed fifth place amongst the Pioneers. Gabe Ebersole finished just outside with his time of 28:32. To round out the race, Eli James finished with his time of 29:11.

The Pioneers men squad sent individuals into the White Race, with multiple runners getting personal bests. Eman Akpoli was one of them, thanks to his strong performance and personal record of 30:54. Freshman Kanye Mills finished 32:10 for a PR and freshman Kodi Quimby got his PR with a time of 32:37.

The Women’s team competed in the Maroon Race. This was the fastest women’s race of the meet. The team placed 19 of 22 schools, with 13 of these schools being top 25 NAIA schools. Allie Plassio and Jana Schmid excelled from start to finish, as they both got PR’s. Allie Plassio beat her original PR by a whole 10 seconds and finished with a time of 19:06. This placed her 22 overall out of 190 total runners. 

Jana Schmid ran a time of 19:29, placing 37 overall. Sophia Lee-Hauser finished third overall for the team in this race with her time of 21:12. She was followed by Kiyara Sawyers, who finished with a time of 21:18. Point Park’s fifth, sixth, and seventh runners all finished within ten placements of each other – those three being Olivia Hare (22:22), Karen Rios (22:51) and Corinne Lee-Hauser (23:36).   

Next up for these teams is the RSC Championship. The Pioneers Women’s team has won 5 of the last 8 RSC Conference Championships, with hopes of bringing another ring home.