by Alan Babbitt
A new-look Hope College women's cross country team carried on a growing tradition of Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships.
The eighth-ranked Flying Dutch earned their sixth consecutive MIAA title by posting a winning score of 36 points during the league meet on Friday at Saint Mary's College.
Hope finished 10 points ahead of runner-up Calvin University to claim its 12th MIAA championship overall. The current run of six titles is the longest in team history and the second-longest in MIAA women's cross country history.
It was a satisfying race for the Flying Dutch, who graduated five of their top seven runners from the 2019 championship team. The 2020 MIAA season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We have a great group of women who run well together," head coach Mark Northuis said. "They ran determined. They tried to put the target on someone else's back. I thought they stepped up."
Photo by Lynne Powe
Hope's five scoring runners all finished among the Top 12 times.
Junior Ana Tucker (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) clocked a second-place, 6K effort of 21 minutes, 39.0 seconds. Trine's Evie Bultemeyer won the race in 21:10.1.
Sophomore Rebecca Markham (Hoffman Estates, Illinois / Fremd) recorded a fourth-place run of 22:28.6.
Senior Jacinda Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) placed eighth in 22:47.6.
Junior Ellie Jankowski (Granger, Indiana / Penn) posted a 10th-place effort of 22:59.7.
Junior Anna Mason (Zeeland, Michigan / Libertas Christian) took 12th at 23:03.6.
Hope also received Top 20 runs from sophomore Libby Gorman (Traverse City, Michigan / St. Francis) in 16th place at 23:17.27 and junior Heleyna Tucker (Midland, Michigan / H.H Dow) in 19th place at 23:31.5.
The Flying Dutch's next race is the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional on Saturday, Nov. 13, in Shelbyville, Indiana.
