A championship effort for the Hope College women's cross country team required something from everyone.
The 11th-ranked Flying Dutch fought through an illness that struck them this week to win the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship meet on Saturday in Charlotte, Michigan.
The first-place score of 42 points clinched the seventh overall women's championship in team history. Hope also won the MIAA Jamboree earlier this season.
Hope coach Mark Northuis called the performance a true team effort.
"This is definitely called running as a team. That's what we needed to do today," Northuis said. "We got some new faces from what we've had typically. A bug hit our team. Our depth really made a difference. Calvin gave us a great run. We were able to run strong with our depth."
Junior Erin Herrmann of Wheaton, Illinois (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS) clocked the best individual performance for the Flying Dutch. She finished second with a 6K time of 21 minutes, 49.1 seconds at Broadway Acres Golf Course.
Hope joined as MIAA champions teams from 2011, 2004, 1998, 1987, 1986 and 1985.
On Saturday, the Flying Dutch recorded seven of the fastest 18 times, including five of the top 12 scoring runs.
Freshman Avery Lowe of North Muskegon, Michigan (North Muskegon HS), placed eighth at 22:47.4.
Senior Michelle Kerr of Dearborn, Michigan (Divine Child HS), took ninth at 22:49.0.
Freshman Emily Hamilton of Naperville, Illinois (Naperville North HS), came in 11th at 22:58.4.
Junior Emily Joosse of Chillicothe, Ohio (Zane Trace HS) rounded out Hope's scoring with a 12th-place effort of 23:08.5.
Senior Julia Stock of Norton Shores, Michigan (Grand Haven HS), finished 13th at 23:09.4.
Sophomore Ashley Warner of Spring Lake, Michigan (Spring Lake HS) was 18th at 23:31.6.
"Winning the league championship was one of our goals," Northuis said. "We are proud that we were able to accomplish that. Now we are onto our next goal."
Click here to read about the Flying Dutch's All-MIAA honorees.
Hope returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 14 at the NCAA Division III regional in Terre Haute, Indiana.
