GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin men's cross country team hosted the Diemer Classic where they took third place.
 
Aquinas claimed the top with a team score of 27 while Davenport finished in second with a score of 29. The Knights finished their day with a team score of 80.
 
Sophomore Abe VanDuinen (Pentwater, Mich./Pentwater Public) led the way for the Knights when he finished in twelfth place with a time of 26:17.3. Freshman duo Kyler Dale (Urbana, Ind./Manchester Jr.) (26:39.2) and Ian Reynolds (Littleton, Colo./Denver Christian) (26:42.8) were the next finishers for Calvin when they took nineteenth and twenty-first, respectively.
 
Sophomore Jonathan Koetje (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) took twenty-third when he crossed the finish line at 26:55.8. Lawrence Cubitt (Traverse City, Mich./Traverse City Central) and Caden Guffey (Zeeland, Mich./Zeeland) finished one right after the other with times of 16:56.9 and 26:59.8 to claim twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth place.
 
Sophomore Pierce Bentley (Kalamazoo, Mich./Otsego) rounded out the scoring for the Knights when he finished in twenty-seventh place with a time of 27:00.3. 

COACHES COMMENTS: "We were strategic with our front two packs coming off a bit of sickness going through the team and in preparation for our quick turnaround to the next meet," said head coach Nicole Kramer. "I'm very impressed with the patience the entire crew started off with – they followed the plan exactly and dug into race mode in the second half of the race. Ten of our freshmen navigated their first 8k today and learned firsthand how to handle that extra distance mentally and physically. 
 
Abe VanDuinen had a great day leading the front pack, alongside a couple of our most recent alumni. It was a big highlight to have members of the 2000 National Championship team and coaching staff back for their 25^th year reunion at this meet and first football game on campus. We have a lot to reflect on and be grateful for this week, in light of all the coaches and alumni who have had such a major impact on so many people here at Calvin, and throughout NCAA cross country as a whole."

 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Friday, September 19th when they travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan to participate in the George Dales Invite hosted by Western Michigan University. The race is set to begin at 10:40AM.