Men's Cross Country Runs to Best Finish at Regionals Since 1991

Led by three all-region performances, the Hope College men's cross country team raced to its best finish at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional since 1991.

The Flying Dutchmen recorded a third-place total of 129 points at Blue River Park in Shelbyville, Indiana. Hope placed third at the 1991 regional.

Hope trailed only regional champion Calvin University (99) and runner-up John Carroll University, Ohio (112).

"This was the best men's team NCAA performance in several years. I am very proud of how the men prepared for this season and this meet," head coach Mark Northuis said. "They put themselves in contention for the regional title and came up a little short. With eight of the top 10 men returning next season, the future looks very bright for the Hope men's program."

The Flying Dutchmen could receive an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Championships. The field is announced on ncaa.com on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m.

Senior Connor Vachon (Jenison, Michigan / Jenison HS) clocked the Flying Dutchmen's top 8K performance.

Vachon posted a fourth-place run of 24 minutes, 55.72 seconds.

Junior Ian Petruska (Fort Collins, Colorado / Fort Collins) placed 10th with a time of 25:10.65.

Sophomore Carston Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) finished 15th by crossing the finish line at 25: 29.73.

Vachon, Petruska and Cole all claimed all-region honors.

Freshman Elias Kretchmar (Granville, Ohio / Granville) posted a 37th-place effort of 25:59.46.

Freshman Logan Begeman (Portage, Michigan / Portage Central) took 48th at 26:13.77.

"There were outstanding All-Region performances today by Connor, Ian and Carston," Northuis said. "Two freshmen, Eli and Logan, completed the top five."

Senior Lucas Guidone (Chicago, Illinois / Taft) finished 105th at 27:07.14.

Senior Daniel Campbell (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) was 130th at 27:27.34.

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Players Mentioned

Carston Cole: Junior; Exercise Science

Lucas Guidone: Senior; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Ian Petruska: Sophomore

Connor Vachon: Senior; Mathematics Education-Secondary and Computer Science

Logan Begeman: Freshman

Elias Kretchmar: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Carston Cole
: Junior; Exercise Science

Lucas Guidone
: Senior; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Ian Petruska
: Sophomore

Connor Vachon
: Senior; Mathematics Education-Secondary and Computer Science

Logan Begeman
: Freshman

Elias Kretchmar
: Freshman