The Hopkins girls’ cross-country team finished 16th among 41 teams Saturday in the Portage Invitational and the boys checked in 27th among 43 squads in the competition.
The Portage Invitational is widely regarded as the “Pre-State Meet” because it includes some the top teams in the state in all four divisions.
It was a big day for sophomore Jasmine Fisher, who took 20th place, earned a medal and turned in her personal best time of 19:41. Laura Velderman, customarily the Lady Vikings’ top gun and one of the best runners in West Michigan, had a rough day on the 5,000-meter course, finishing 35th in 20:15, still copping a medal.
“Today was a very bad day for me,” Velderman said on Facebook. “I was dizzy, I lost all control of my legs and collapsed at the finish line, and my pony tail fell out of my hair not even a mile into the race.”
Senior Madison Snoeyink finished 79th in 21:20, sophomore Emma Helder was 109th in 21:52 and freshman Grace Beckwith was 208th.
Helder suffered even greater troubles than Velderman because of asthma while running a subpar race.
Lansing Catholic won the Division 3 girls’ race with 106 points, just one better than Traverse City St. Francis, and Benzie Central was third. O-K archrival Grandville Calvin Christian was eighth.
Saugatuck took top honors in the boys’ competition and Lansing Catholic was runner-up.
Sophomore Dan Rausch paced Hopkins in 70th place with a time of 17:44, Ethan Nagel was 75th in 17:46, his season best performance. Freshman Todd Henley was 141st in 18:28, sophomore Jake Pastoor 201st in 19:11, and senior Nick Belka 225th in 19:36.
PHOTO: Sophomore Jasmine Fisher earned a medal, finished 20th in 19:41 and turned in her best career performance to date in the Portage Inviational Saturday.
