by Anna Mitchell '21
The Hope College men's cross country team chose to race up a level at the Louisville Cross Country Classic, and the results pleased head coach Mark Northuis.
The Flying Dutchmen finished 31st in the 45-team Blue Division that primarily featured NCAA Division II teams.
"Our team would have placed third if we were to be in the Division III race. (The Blue Division) was a lot tougher competition," Northuis said. "Overall it was a very strong performance by our men's team."
Senior Nathan Schloff of Holland, Michigan (Holland Christian HS) led Hope with an 8K time of 26 minutes, 4.1 seconds. He took 58th place out of a 412-runner field.
Senior Nicholai Shaw from Allendale, Michigan (Allendale), pictured, crossed the finish line in 136th place with a run of 26:46.8.
Sophomore Brett Slayton of Holland, Michigan (Hamilton) placed 178th after clocking in at 27:09.2.
Sophomore Zackary Murphy of Coldwater, Michigan (Coldwater) finished 179th by clocking a time of 27:09.4.
Sophomore Drew Schmitz of Westfield, Indiana (Westfield) completed Hope's scoring as he took 204th with a run of 27:19.3.
Junior Ty Hergenreder from Davison, Michigan (Goodrich) clocked a time of 27:21.9.
Freshman Evan Bleitz of Saline, Michigan (Saline) was 213th place overall with a time of 27:33.3. The Flying Dutchmen finished with 740 points.
Hope will compete next on Friday, October 5 at the Lansing Community College Invitational.
