Men’s and women’s cross country teams open season at Aquinas Invitational

The Olivet College men's and women's cross country teams opened their seasons Sept. 9 when they competed at the Aquinas College Invitational. The invitational was held at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids.

On the men's side, the Comets were led by freshmen Thomas Ray (Constantine) as he finished the 8K race in 28:03, followed by freshman Robert Moss (Olivet) in 29:03. Other Olivet runners included freshman Justin Todd (Climax-Scotts) at 29:54, freshman James Greenfield (Edwardsburg) at 30:19, junior Derrick Bean (Quincy) at 30:45 and junior Jaysen Brandt (Sterling Heights/Henry Ford II) at 32:00.

Freshman Kayleigh Hamilton (Hudsonville) paced Olivet in the women's 5K race with a time of 20:48 with senior Andrea Szokola (Marlette) closely behind in 21:07. The other Comet runners were senior Stephanie Green (Leroy/Pine River) at 21:43, senior Rachel Strelecki (Stanford/Standish-Sterling) at 22:04, freshman Tera Bean (Battle Creek/Harper Creek) at 22:59, freshman Jessica Woods (Climax-Scotts) at 23:09 and junior Stephanie Pierce (Battle Creek/Harper Creek) at 24:26.

Olivet are back in action Saturday, Sept. 24, when they travel to Grand Rapids for the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Jamboree, which is being hosted by Calvin College.