Both the Hopkins boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams had a tough time at Howard City Tri-County Tuesday in the Viking Co-Ed Invitational.

The girls finished third among four teams and the boys were fourth among five.

Kent City, a former member of the O-K Silver Conference, looked strong, winning the girls’ competition with 28 points. Hopkins had 61 team points, coming in six points shy of runner-up Newaygo.

Cedar Springs won the boys’ race with 44 points, Kent City was second with 50 and Hopkins fourth with 95.

Junior Laura Velderman paced the Lady Vikings by taking third in a time of 21:39.44. Teammate Jasmine Fisher was fourth in 21:41.11.

Emma Helder was 15^th, Gracie DeZeeuw 20^th and Alyssa Bielby 22^nd to round out the scoring.

A couple of runners from Kent City, Lauren Freeland and freshman Layla Martini, captured the two top slots in the girls’ race. Not one female completed the 5,000-meter course in less than 20 minutes.

Sophomore Todd Henley once agai9n was the Vikings boys’ top harrier with a time of 17:54.83, good for fourth place. Junior Dan Rausch finished eighth in 18:07.27. Jake Pastoor came in 29^th, Joe Ludlam 35^th and Christopher Tortorelli 37^th.