by Alan Babbitt
The Hope College men's cross country team continued its climb up the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association standings on Friday.
Led by two of the MIAA's fastest four runners, the Flying Dutchmen finished second at the MIAA Championships with a total of 49 points. It was Hope's highest conference finish since 2015.
"The race set up the way we thought it was going to,' head coach Mark Northuis said. "It was a good team race for the men."
Senior Nick Hoffman and freshman Connor Vachon led the Flying Dutchmen's charge.
Hoffman (Holland, Michigan / Holland HS) challenged for the individual title until Calvin's Brandan Knepper held him off late in the 8K race. Hoffman finished runner-up 25:10.7, three seconds behind Knepper.
Vachon (Jenison, Michigan / Jenison) took fourth place in 25:33.0.
Junior Gabriel DeYoung (Saegertown, Pennsylvania / Saegertown) clocked an 11th-place time of 26:02.8.
Junior Anders Bogard (Mattawan, Michigan / Kalamazoo Christian) recorded a 13th-place effort of 26:07.6.
Senior Evan Bleitz (Saline, Michigan / Saline) placed 19th at 26:38.8 to round out Hope's scoring.
Junior Luke Shoemaker (Elkhart, Michigan / Concord) finished 21st at 26:46.8, while sophomore Dan Campbell (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) was 22nd at 26:49.5.
Calvin won the meet with 22 points.
The Flying Dutchmen's next race is the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional on Saturday, Nov. 13, in Shelbyville, Indiana.
