KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's cross country team made the short trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan to compete in the George Dales Invite hosted by Western Michigan.
 
In a field of ten teams, including eight division one opponents, Calvin nabbed seventh place with a team score of 162 while accounting for five of the top six division three runners.
 
Junior Sophie Bull (Denver, Colo./Denver Christian) continued her streak of excellence as she was once again the first Knight to cross the finish line with a time of 21:14.4 in fourth place. Senior Catie Kramer (Pickering, Ontario/Dunbarton) finished with a time of 22:56.3 while junior Hailey Erickson (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) finished close behind at 22:59.1.
 
Freshman duo Brynn Ellenbecker (Itasca, Ill./Lake Park) and Ayla Holben (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) rounded out the scoring for the Knights as they finished with times of 23:00.1 and 23:04.3, respectively.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "Sophie's last 2k loop split was certainly the fastest in the entire field," said head coach Nicole Kramer. "She moved up from the top 10-15 early on, kept the front pack in range, and took the necessary risks in the middle of the race to set herself up for a tight finish where she passed at least 3 DI competitors in the final 200 meters.
 
Catie had another breakthrough race as a Knight to be our second finisher, and our top 5 stayed very close. We knew this would be a fun opportunity to go up against schools we don't see often. This was overall a solid day in warm conditions, and a great experience to apply for future races this season."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, September 4th at 11 AM when they host the Knight Invite at the Gainey Athletic Complex.