It was a dominant performance for the varsity boys in their 3rd straight championship at the Kent Ottawa Meet held at the Calvin College Gainey Athletic Complex on October 12. Despite muddy, cold, and windy conditions, the Red Hawks stuck to the goals they set for the race and pulled out a strong win in a field of 21 teams.

The Red Hawks were scored in the Kent Division with Corey Bowers placing 1st overall in a time of 16:18 with teammate Jaydon Moleski not far behind in 4th at 16:39. Rounding out scoring for the Red Hawks in a dominant 35-point team score were Daniel Vermulm (8th, 17:00), Dilan Sargent (10th, 17:03), and Gavin Braciak (12th, 17:13). The top five for the Red Hawks were all medal recipients. Next was Austin Mann running one of his best races of the year placing 21st at 17:29, Carter Moleski (45th, 18:08), Espen Wood (55th, 18:19), Cayden Steinebach (60th, 18:22), and Clayton Akerman (108th, 19:43).

The JV team placed 3rd out of 8 teams with Eli Malon running his breakout race placing 6th in 18:46, which is 5 minutes and 17 seconds faster than he ran just seven weeks ago. Ben Mallory placed 13th at 19:02 running a new personal best.  Teammate Justin Voskuil also ran a new personal best at 19:20 and placed 20th.  Gabe Minnich (25th) and Caleb Menefee (31st) each ran their season best at 19:32 and 19:39 respectively. Connor Skelonc broke into the 19s for the first time with a time of 19:58 placing 43rd. Matthew McQueen placed 96th in a time of 21:58 and Jonathan Reed placed 115th in 22:56.

 “This meet served as a great dress rehearsal as the post season is now upon us,” said Coach Justin Jones. “Our boys came through once again and battled the mud, wind, and cold very well as we walked away with our 3rd consecutive county championship. Our next meets will dictate how we place in the conference, region, and state. With months of training behind us, it’s now time to compete and let all the miles and hard work pay off. I’m excited to see what’s in store for these guys. Regardless of what happens, this group has left their mark in the history books of Cedar Springs Athletics and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

 The team will be competing next in the Late Season Warrior Invitational at Chippewa Hills High School on October 19.