GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Men's and women's cross country hit the course in the rain as they took to the Knight Invite, hosted by Calvin University. The women placed ninth of 10 teams, with Grand Valley State as a dominant presence, picking up the top nine places in the women's race. The men placed second of 10, their best ever finish at Calvin, both in terms of highest place and number of teams beaten. 

The race conditions were not necessarily ideal, with lots of rain, hills, and subsequent mud, meaning that footing proved to be a challenge across the board for all the participants.  

Women - 9th of 10

Kassandra Ortega led the GC women once again, this time for a 6k event, where she picked up a time of 23:54.8, putting her as the 36th finisher overall out of 137 runners. Presley Allen followed behind her in 45th with a time of 24:10.4. Marin Kauffman Smith completed the top three for the Leafs for the second time in 80th with a time of 25:54.3. Finishing the points for the Leafs was Ella Armstrong, who finished in 87th with a time of 26:05.4, and Alana Whited in 101st — the first freshman to score for the Maple Leafs this year. She achieved a time of 27:08.5, and was followed immediately by Kate Rheinheimer in 102nd with a time of 27:09.1. 

Both Ortega and Allen's times make it into the top 50 of best times in a 6k in program history. 

Men - 2nd of 10 

This was the first run of the season for most of Goshen's top scoring runners, and they did not disappoint in their 8k race for the day. Freshman Jesse Songo won his first ever race as a Maple Leaf with a time of 25:10.7. This is the fastest 8k time even recorded by a freshman for the Leafs, breaking the record set back in 2013. This also makes him just the sixth freshman to break the 26:00 mark in GC history. 

Songo was followed by 12 GVSU runners and then another Leaf — Duncan Kogei in 14th with a time of 26:01.8. Jacob Friesen rounded out the top three with his time of 26:38.5 — putting him 32nd out of the 166 runners on the men's side of the Knight Invite. Drew Hogan followed shortly behind in 43rd with a 26:56.7, and then Jesse Bontrager closed the points for the Leafs in 78th with a time of 27:56.4. The next three Leaf finishers were close behind in 80th, 84th, and 89th with Leighton Dodt, Bruno Kipsang, and Peter Moser filling those spots respectively. 

The Leafs only lost to #4 in Division II GVSU, but they defeated #25 Spring Arbor and Huntington in the Crossroads League, and #22 Cornerstone — another ranked opponent. 

The Maple Leafs men's team is back in action on Friday, Oct. 2 when they travel a short distance to compete at the Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational, where they are set to run at 12:40 p.m. The women are back in action on Friday, Oct. 9 at the Ray Bullock Invitational at Taylor. The women run at 4 p.m. and the men run at 5 p.m.