The cross country teams from Creative Technologies Academy made a solid showing last Saturday at the Cougar-Falcon Invitational at Calvin College. Through a combination of a quick course and fast competition, the Chargers had almost everyone run their personal best times of the season.

Three sixth graders represented CTA at the meet. Brandon Beck ran an inspirational 6:27 on the 1600m course to earn a fifth place medal. Ethan Lehman (6:52) and Jarod Bouma (8:46) ran equally impressive races.

Seventh and eighth graders ran a 3200m course. Benett Tomandl (13:10) and Olivia Wortz (18:54) led the charge for the middle school teams. Ryan Smith (14:23) and Hunter George (16:39) also had solid finishes.

In varsity action, every runner ran his or her best time of the season. Andre Winters turned in a determined effort for the Chargers. His time of 18:41 was the best time the team has seen in a long time. David Irish-Empie (19:01), Jeff Spicer (19:17), Jeremiah Wortz (19:35), and Kyle Biddlecome (23:17) rounded out the top five in scoring, allowing CTA to edge out Grand River Prep in team scoring by 22 points.

On the ladies side, Maegan Roach continued her impressive season with a 12th place finish in a time of 20:13. Alicia Beck (23:39), Danielle Davies (25:32) and Dani George (29:32) all turned in excellent performances as well.

The Charger cross country team next faces competition at Carson City-Crystal this Saturday.