By Tom Renner
Hope's women's cross country team competed in two invitationals on Saturday: an all-Division III competition hosted by Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., and another consisting of two-year and four-year programs at Muskegon Community College.
At the first annual Augustana Interregional Invitational, the Flying Dutch finished fifth in a field of 23 NCAA Division III teams from across the country with 100 points. Pomona-Pitzer, Calif., topped the standings with 68 points. Rival Calvin was sixth with 134 points.
"Ana Tucker took control of the race from the gun and never relinquished it. It was an impressive race against most of the top teams in the nation.," head coach Mark Northuis said. "As a team, to be this close to No. 2, 3, and 5 teams in the nation is a huge boost in confidence. We are moving in the right direction."
The race was run at the Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill.
Flying Dutch junior Ana Tucker (Midland, Michigan / Herbert Henry Dow High School), pictured, led the field of 224 runners with a 6K time of 21:21.3. She finished 12 seconds ahead of her nearest challenger.
Hope's next finisher was sophomore Rebecca Markham (Hoffman Estates, Illinois / Fremd High School) in 13th place (22:11.8).
Junior Anna Mason (Zeeland, Michigan / Libertas Christian High School) was 24th (22:32.8).
Senior Jacinda Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa High School) was 30th (22:38.4).
Rounding out Hope's team score was junior Ellie Jankowski (Granger, Indiana / Penn High School) in 32nd (22:40.1).
Other Hope finishers in the top seven were junior Heleyna Tucker (Midland, Michigan / Herbert Henry Dow High School) in 39th (22:45.5) and sophomore Libby Gorman (Traverse City, Michigan / St. Francis High School) in 42nd (22:53.5).
The Jayhawk Invitational was hosted by Muskegon Community College at the Oak Ridge Golf Course. There were 106 runners in the 5K race.
Grand Valley State topped the 11-team field with 20 points. Hope was fourth with 97 points with the team's first five runners finishing within 46 seconds of each other.
The first Hope finisher was freshman Maddy Struck (Grayslake, Illinois / Central High School) in 16th place (20:02.8).
Next was sophomore Olivia Quillan (Grandville, Michigan / Calvin Christian High School) in 18th place (20:17.2).
Freshman Emily Scott (Naperville, Illinois / Naperville Central High School) and junior Katie Selenko (Tecumseh, Michigan / Tecumseh HS) finished 27th (20:42.5) and 28th (20:44.8), respectively.
Rounding out the team scoring was junior Emily Unger (Montague, Michigan / Montague HS) in 31st place (20:48.70).
Also competing were senior Hannah Gray (Winfield, Ill. / Wheaton North High School) in 35th place (21:03.5) and freshman Laura Taylor (Yorkville, Ill. / Yorkville High School) in 43rd (21:15.54).
The next competition will be the MIAA Championships hosted by Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Ind., on Friday, Oct. 29.
