OLIVET, Mich. - Today the Calvin men's cross country team gathered with the rest of the conference in Olivet, Michigan to compete in the MIAA Championships.
 
After posting a team score of 96 the Knights finished in fourth place behind the Hornets of Kalamazoo. Hope nabbed the first-place spot while Trine took second.
 
Sophomore Vaughn Meyer (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) was the top finisher when he took tenth place with a time of 25:32.6. Sophomore Pierce Bentley (Kalamazoo, Mich./Otsego) also broke the top twenty when finished at 26:21.8 to take eighteenth place.
 
Sophomore Jonathan Koetje (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) was the next Calvin finisher at 26:33.5 while junior Ryan Sarkett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) was close behind at 26:39.4. Freshman Ian Reynolds (Littleton, Colo./Denver Christian) rounded out the scoring for the Knights when he crossed the finish line with a time of 26:40.0.
 
Freshman Samuel Downing (Hudsonville, Mich./Covenant Christian) and sophomore Justin Vos (Whitinsville, Mass.Whitinsville Christian) also competed in the field for Calvin and finished with times of 26:43.2 and 26:45.6, respectively.
 
With his tenth-place finish today Meyer earned a spot on the All-MIAA Second Team.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "Congratulations to Hope, Trine and Kalamazoo on an impressive meet," said head coach Nicole Kramer. "We certainly had higher team goals for today, yet our youngsters got a good look at how strong the MIAA has become as a cross country conference. It's exciting to light a fire for the future after tougher team days like today. We have 50 men's cross country championships to be proud of in this team's history, and will continue to seek out the next one looking ahead. 
 
Individually we had key bright spots as Vaughn Meyer moved up well throughout and earned his first All-MIAA honor. Pierce Bentley, Jonathan Koetje and Ian Reynolds had encouraging races and many additional personal bests across the squad. It's been a unique season for our team, and I am grateful for the upperclassmen who have invested so much of themselves into our team culture. We're looking forward to a fun Louisville trip and making the most of the Great Lakes Regional Championships!"
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, November 25th when they travel to Louisville, Ky. to compete in the NCAA Regionals at 11:15 AM.