EAST LANSING, Mich. - Today the Calvin men's cross-country team kicked off its 2026 campaign when it competed in the Spartan Invitational. The Knights finished in twelfth place with a team score of 371 while host team Michigan State finished on top with a score of 15.
 
Junior Vaughn Meyer (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) was the first Knight to cross the finish line with a time of 26:08.7 in sixty-first place. Fellow junior Brewer Snay (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North) finished with a time of 26:30.5 while sophomore Samuel Downing (Zeeland, Mich./Zeeland East) crossed the finish line at 26:56.1.
 
The next pack of Calvin runners was led by sophomore Ian Reynolds (Littleton, Colo./Denver Christian) who finished with a time of 26:57.3 and was followed closely by junior Justin Vos (Whitinsville, Mass./Whitinsville Christian) (27:05.2) and junior Jack DeKruyter (Holland, Mich./Zeeland West) (27:08.6).
 
Junior Pierce Bentley (Kalamazoo, Mich./Otsego) rounded out the scoring for the Knights when he finished with a time of 27:13.8.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "We've made considerable strides over the past year, and some nice pieces of that showed up today," said head coach Nicole Kramer. "It's helpful to evaluate how this crew initially sizes up with other regional and conference teams, while gaining experience on this year's regional championship course. Overall, I'm pleased with how we started the competitive season today. 
 
Vaughn Meyer ran a smart, efficient race to lead the pack, and Sam Downing ran a particularly breakthrough race to start his sophomore campaign. Jack DeKruyter ran a PR on a historically slow course, so that was encouraging along with five of our freshmen getting their first 8k in today. We're excited to keep the momentum rolling into our home meet next Saturday."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, September 19th when they host the Knight Invite at 10:45 AM.