Results
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The 15th-ranked Calvin University men's cross country team finished second at the 2024 Knight Invite held at Gainey Athletic Complex on Saturday.
Calvin finished second overall and first among NCAA III teams at the meet with 57 total points thanks to three individual finishers in the top 10 among the collegiate racers.
Luke Witvliet (Grandville, Mich./Calvin Christian) was the first Knight to cross the finish line in second place with a time of 25:34.3, followed by
Eric Swinson (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) in third place with a time of 25:40.8.
Brandan Knepper (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) took ninth in a time of 26:04.3 to round out the three top-10 finishers.
Jacob Buit (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) was the fourth Calvin runner in 20th place in 26:54.7.
Trent Sivils (Chesapeake, Va./Stonebridge School) rounded out the Knights' top five with a time of 27:15.0 in 23rd place.
The top seven for the Knights also included
Gabe Verlin (Grand Rapids, Mich./South Christian) with a time of 28:08.4 and
Gavin Anderson (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) in 28:47.2.
Davenport took first place with 44 points, while Wittenberg finished third with 82 points.
COACH'S COMMENT: "We enjoyed hosting the Knight Invite on our new course today," Calvin head cross country coach
Nicole Kramer said. "It takes a village to host, and we appreciate all the support from the Calvin community who show up and tune into our races. It was great to see our top men start together and build throughout the field.
Luke Witvliet and
Eric Swinson in particular put on a clinic in the second half to move up significantly and finish 2-3 overall. We noticed many of our guys taking appropriate risks in the first half to set themselves up for a big day. We love to see that and know the hard work will continue to pay off in this tough sport. The temperature rose quick throughout this race, which caused most of the field to positive split. So not a fast day overall, but much to be proud of and continuing to learn from as we build into the next phase of our season."
NEXT UP: Calvin men's cross country will take next week off from competition before returning to action on Saturday, October 12, at the Jayhawk Invitational hosted by Muskegon Community College.
