by Austin Marsman

Martin eighth-grader Eli Dykstra is the only middle schooler to compete in cross country for the Clippers this fall, but he has enjoyed no small measure of success.

Dykstra finished 16th out of 118 runners and medaled in his race Tuesday at the middle school conference championship at Kalamazoo Christian Middle School. He also set a personal record (PR) with a two-mile time of 13:08, beating his previous best time by 22 seconds.

Shown with him is varsity cross-country coach John Visser, who will welcome him next year for Martin’s second season in the sport. (Photos courtesy of Denise Dykstra)