GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's cross country team had a standout showing at the Diemer Classic where they nabbed the top spot.
 
The Knights finished their day with a team score of 22 while Aquinas finished in second place with 37 points. Southwestern Michigan rounded out the top three when they finished with a score of 102.
 
Junior Sophie Bull (Denver, Colo./Dever Christian) led the field of competitors as she finished in first with a time of 17:23.2, almost a full minute ahead of the second-place finisher. Freshman duo Ayla Holben (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) (18:13.9) and Brynn Ellenbecker (Itasca, Ill./Lake Park) (18:25.6) both cracked the top five as they finished in third and fifth, respectively. 
 
Freshman Emma Wierenga (Grafton, Mass./Whitinsville Christian) was the next Knight to cross the finish line as she took eighth place with a time of 18:45.6. Senior Naomi Dykstra (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids City High) claimed tenth place when she finished with a time of 19:01.05 while fellow senior Catie Kramer (Pickering, Ontario/Dunbarton) was right behind in eleventh place at 19:19.3.
 
Calvin rounded out their scoring when freshman Summer Myhren (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) crossed the finish line in twelfth place with a time of 19:19.5.

COACHES COMENTS: "Despite the early rain, we had a fun morning of Calvin Cross Country, said head coach Nicole Kramer. "Our athletes put on a show on our home turf. The front two packs got out a bit faster than planned through the mile, but rose up to the competition around them and made excellent adjustments. It was good for Sophie to get back onto the cross country course following her exhilarating track season, and her teammates keyed off her lead. 
 
Our freshmen showed how well they are adapting to college training and racing, and it's impressive to see them working together this early in their college careers. Naomi Dykstra also had a strong race today to be our fifth finisher. We are growing stronger and more confident each week!"

 
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.