Erin Herrmann led the eighth-ranked Hope College women's cross country at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Jamboree, but brought plenty of company at the finish line.

The Flying Dutch clocked seven of the fastest 16 times to run away with a win atSaturday's event at West Ottawa Golf Club with a score of 26 points.

Hope gained the early edge for the league championship by finishing 23 points ahead of defending MIAA champion Calvin and 82 ahead of third-place Trine.

The meet counts one-third toward the overall title. The October 31 MIAA Championships hosted by Olivet account for the rest.

Hope coach Mark Northuis said his runners completed their goal of competing and not worrying about times.

"They charged hard all the way to the end," Northuis said. "The hard work is paying off. We ran as a good solid pack."

Herrmann finished second out of 122 runners. The junior from Wheaton, Illinois (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS), recorded a 6K time of 21 minutes, 48.9 seconds. She finished 5.8 seconds behind winner Lauren Strohbehn of Calvin.

Senior Julia Stock of Norton Shores, Michigan (Grand Haven HS), came in third at 22:09.5.

Freshman Sarah Neumar of Ann Arbor, Michigan (Huron HS), placed sixth at 22:36.1.

Junior Emily Joosse of Chillicothe, Ohio (Zane Trace HS), took seventh at 22:49.8.

Freshman Avery Lowe of North Muskegon, Michigan (North Muskegon HS), rounded out Hope's scoring with an eighth-place run of 22:53.0.

Freshman Emily Hamilton of Naperville, Illinois (Naperville North HS), finished 11th at 23:00.9 for Hope while sophomore Rachael Webb of Grandville, Michigan (Grandville HS), had an 16th-place effort of 23:26.9. 

Hope's next race is Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Greater Louisville Invitational.