It was a pretty good day Thursday for the Wayland girls’ cross-country team in the Kelloggsville Invitational.
The Lady Wildcats took second-place in the seven-team field, only bettered by an Otsego team that finished fourth in the state last November. Wayland had 63 team points to Otsego’s 25. Hopkins girls were right behind Wayland with 74.
Otsego also won the boys’ race with 30 points. Hopkins was sixth with 155 and the Wildcat boys finished eighth with 176.
Wayland girls had four medalists and once again junior Rylee Cronkright proved she has healed from her injuries she suffered in track last spring. Cronkright was individual runner-up at 20:46.10 to Otsego’s Sydney Kubiak. The two were the only girls’ runners who broke 21 minutes on the tough South Christian Athletic complex course.
Also finishing in the top was Hopkins senior Jasmine Fisher, who was sixth in 21:27.77. Teammate Emma Helder was 11th, Alyssa Beilby 17th, Laura Velderman 18th and Gracie DeZeeuw 27th.
Rounding out the Wayland scoring were sophomore Naomi Oosterhouse in 12th, Gracie Hasse in 13th, Zoe Antel 16th and freshman Haylee Jasinski 23rd.Rylee, Naomi, Gracie and Zoe, personal best time by upperclassman Gracie and everyone with season best times ( most were better by 2 or more minutes)!
It was the second straight time the Lady Wildcats have been runners-up in an invitation this season as they equaled Thursday’s performance in the Hudsonville Unity Early Bird competition.
The big news for the Hopkins boys was a runner-up finish by junior Todd Henley in 16:44.35, second only to Otsego ace Alex Comerford.
Dan Rausch was 12th, Joe Ludlam 46th, Zachary Wisser 67th and Jonathan Beckwith 71st.
Sophomore Elijah Gamelin led Wayland in 23rd at 19:38.74, followed by Ian Russell in 35th, Steven Mosher in 43rd, Andrew VanBaal 50th and Jarod Geerligs 55th.
COVER PHOTO: Four Wildcat cross-country medalists (from left) Grace Hasse, Zoe Antel, Rylee Cronkright and Amy Oosterhouse.
