Both Hope cross country teams finished in the top ten at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional held Saturday at Westerville, Ohio.
Men's Meet: The Flying Dutchmen finished 10th in the field of 34 teams led by senior Seth Weener who was 15th among the 240 competitors. It marked the seventh time in the last eight years that coach Mark Northuis' Dutchmen have been a top-ten team in the Great Lakes region. earned himself a spot in the national championships next Saturday in Hanover, Ind. The top seven runners at the regional beyond the runners on the qualifying teams advanced to nationals. Weener was a national qualifier in 2006.
Calvin ended with 37 points while Hope total 284. The men's regional champion was Jed Christiansen of Calvin with an 8K time of 24:44. Weener was timed in 25:26. Other Hope finishers were senior Rob Bailey, 48th (26:09); senior Paul VanderVelde, 59th (26:22); junior Matt Wiersum, 69th (26:28); junior Ryan Jara, 93rd (26:44); senior Zach King, 112th (27:01); and freshman Nathan Love, 123rd (27:10).
Women's Meet: The Flying Dutch were ninth in the field of 34 women's teams for their first top ten finish in the Great Lakes regional since 2004. Freshman Kate Nelson led Hope with a 36th place finish among the 233 runners. She missed all-region honors by one spot. Calvin won the women's 6K scoring 42 points while Hope total 281 points.
Hope's finishers were Nelson, 36th (23:45); freshman Karlyn Sikma, 50th (24:01); freshman Kelly Luftkin, 64th (24:09); sophomore Susan Savasky, 68th (24:25); sophomore Claire Bird, 77th (24:34); senior Kate Freshour, 100th (24:59); and sophomore Emily Fischer, 128th (25:24).