Cross country concludes season with WHAC Championship
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Defiance College men's and women's cross country teams took a road trip to Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Mich. for the 2024 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championship on Friday afternoon, hosted by Aquinas.
It has been six weeks since the Yellow Jacket men have seen action, and a shorter, four-week hiatus for the women. The men ran an 8,000-meter course, while the women competed in the 6,000-meter path.
DC took six runners to represent its men's team, ultimately taking 12th place out of 12 schools and totaling 373 points at the end of the race. Jake Stephens led the pack, which has been consistent for the Yellow Jacket men, excluding the Siena Heights Invitational on Sept. 27. Stephens completed the course in 126th place with a time of 32:53. Coming in next was J'Vontae Barnes in 130th place with a time of 36:06. Shortly thereafter, Elijah Fortman finished in 131st place with a time of 37:43. The final three Yellow Jackets rounded out the course back-to-back-to-back.
Beginning with Tyjon Mance in 134th, Anthony Lawson-Beachum and Zyon Woods reached the finish line consecutively following him. The three runners placed with times all within a tenth of a second within one another. Mance's time was 51:18:63.
The DC women, who have one additional race under their belts than the men, which took place Oct. 11, brought seven runners. For two Yellow Jackets, it was their first time competing this season — Amanda Barnes and Adeline Niyonkunda. The other five runners crossed the finished line after putting up their best collegiate times.
Finishing first was Zawadi Debola in 70th place with a time of 27:04. Three places and 15 seconds later, Mira Horvath completed the 6000-meter course. In 99th was Israa Khamis — time 36:48 — followed consecutively by the final four DC runners. Niyonkunda finished in 100th with a time of 36:58. Barnes, Amira Knight and Rakel Thompson each finished close behind, all within three minutes of each other.
Defiance placed 10th of 12 total teams with a complete score of 304. Additionally, it ran the most runners it has all season long.
The men's and women's cross country teams will be back in action in 2025.
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