The No. 16-ranked Hope College women's cross country team made a strong impression on Saturday at the Running of the Cows / Pre-National Meet hosted by Carleton College on Saturday in Northfield, Minnesota.
Racing on the 6,000-meter course at the Bill Huyck Championship Course, the host site for the upcoming NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships, the Flying Dutch displayed impressive depth across two distinct races. Facing a highly competitive 35-team field, Hope locked down an eighth-place overall finish in the Navy Championship division and a third-place effort in the Maize Division.
In the top race, Hope proved its prowess on the national stage by scoring 290 points and outrunning two higher-ranked opponents: No. 9 Pomona-Pitzer (290) and No. 15 Vassar (360). No. 2-ranked Williams College took top honors with 79 points, followed closely by No. 7 Wisconsin-La Crosse in second with 141. All seven teams who placed ahead of Orange and Blue were ranked in the top 11 by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Senior Olivia Ippel (St. Joseph, Michigan / St. Joseph HS) set the pace for the Flying Dutch, crossing the line in 22:11.3 to take 36th place.
Sophomore Anna Sybenga (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Central) in 49th at 22:26.0. Senior Mary England (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Kalamazoo Central) finished 64th (22:35.7).
Sophomore Miranda Sawvel of Laramie, Wyoming (Centennial) posted a 72nd-place run of 22:41.5. Sophomore Taylor Mitchell (Otsego, Michigan / Otsego) was 91st at 22:50.8 to round out Hope's top five scoring runners.
The Flying Dutch also received runs from freshman Naomi Diekman (Grandville, Michigan / Grandville) in 115th at 23:04.6, sophomore Dylan Ballin (Brookville, Ohio / Brookville) in 134th at 23:13.4, and freshman Abby Lewis (Barrington, Illinois . Barrington Community) in 157th at 23:25.1.
In the 32-team Maize division, Hope's depth powered the squad to a third-place total of 119 points. No. 7 Wisconsin-Lacrosse won with 23 points. No. 10 Washington University in St. Louis was runner-up with 66 points.
Freshman Lillian Cate (Carmel, Indiana / Carmel) led the charge with a top-10 individual effort, placing 10th overall in 23:09.4.
Junior Maddie VandeBunte (Jenison, Michigan / Jenison) added a strong 24th-place result in 23:24.6, followed closely by junior Tessa Rindfliesch (Holland, Michigan / Zeeland West) in 31st at 23:31.7 and sophomore Savannah Jackson (Saint Charles, Illinois / Saint Charles East) in 34th at 23:34.4.
Senior Shelby Bolser (St. Louis / Missouri / Kirkwood) locked down 36th place in 23:36.0 to round out the scoring, while senior Annika Sytsma (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Kalamazoo Christian) (38th, 23:38.8) and senior Grace Baldauff (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania / Northgate) (40th, 23:40.6) finished just seconds behind.
Hope is back in action on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Rock Island, Illinois at the Augustana College Interregional Invitational.
