The Hillsdale College men's cross country team put together another solid showing on Saturday at the Calvin Knight XC Invitational in Grand Rapids.
The Chargers took third behind host Calvin and runners from a powerhouse Grand Valley State program, scoring 56 points and putting three competitors in the top 25 of the 8K race.
Sophomore Alex Mitchell led Hillsdale with a strong first race of the season, taking third overall in 26:20.6, one of the best times of his career at the 8,000 meter distance.
Junior Isaac Waffle also placed in the top 10, taking 10th in a time of 26:27, just two seconds off his personal best for the 8K distance, while sophomore Micah Vanderkooi placed 23rd in 26:42.
Sophomore Richie Johnston placed 39th in a personal best time of 26:50 and freshman Nathaniel Osborne placed 56th in a time of 26:52 in his first ever collegiate 8K to round out Hillsdale's scoring runners.
Sophomore Donnie McArdle also placed 74th for Hillsdale in 26:54, and junior Mark Sprague took 97th in 27:10 as well for the Chargers. Freshman Emil Schlueter also ran a 27:50 in his first collegiate race for Hillsdale, and junior Sean Hoeft was very close to his 8K personal best, finishing in 27:16.
Having set down an early-season marker, Hillsdale will take the next two weeks off from competitive racing to focus on training and preparing for key October meets. The next two races for the Chargers are the Lansing Invitational on Sept. 30, and the Louisville Cross Country Classic on October 1 as Hillsdale splits its squads that weekend.