The Hillsdale College men's cross country team opened the 2021 season at Calvin University this Saturday, taking sixth in a competitive field at the host team's annual Knight Invitational.
Junior Adam Wier crossed the finish line first for the Chargers, taking 21st overall with a time of 25:50 in the 8K race. He was followed by freshman Alex Mitchell, who took 54th (26:45) to finish as Hillsdale's second runner.
Freshman Micah Vanderkooi took 72nd (27:09) with sophomore Sean Hoeft following close behind in 76th (27:14) to place as the Charger's third and fourth runners. In his first collegiate event, freshman Donnie McArdle had a strong performance, rounding out Hillsdale's scoring top five with a time of 27:20 and crossing the line 81st overall.
Freshman Ross Kuhn also ran well in his first college race, finishing just after McArdle in 83rd (27.26). Senior Jack Shelley took 90th (27:38) to close out Hillsdale's top seven finishers.
The Chargers finished with 191 total points. Grand Valley St. won the meet with 47 points, and Calvin finished second with 49.
With seven weeks until the 2021 G-MAC Championship meet hosted by Cedarville on Nov. 23, the Charger men have two more meets to prepare to contend for the conference title. The team will get back to work again in two weeks on Sep. 18 at the Lucian Rosa Invite in Wisconsin.
Written by Allison Nimtz '23
Photo by Kasidy Carson '23