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Cross Country Finishes Third in MIAA

Written by Ashley Miracle, '13 Saturday, October 29, 2011

Lauren Kettle (right) was the third woman to finish the 6K race. Penny Smith photo.Lauren Kettle (right) was the third woman to finish the 6K race. Penny Smith photo.ALMA, Mich. – Sophomore Paul Lewis (Albion) and first-year runner Lauren Kettle (Milford) earned first team all-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards Saturday at the MIAA Championships held at Alma College.

Lewis finished fourth overall in the men’s 8K event with a time of 25:14. Finishing behind Lewis was senior Andrew Fuentes (Grand Junction/Bangor) and junior Matt Melvin (Bangor) with times of 25:53 and 25:57, respectively.

Rounding out the top five for the men were sophomore Mitchell Klingler (Coldwater/Bronson), 26:12, and first-year runner Dylan Danowski (Milford), 26:21. Fuentes, Klingler, and Melvin all received all-MIAA second team status.

Finishing the varsity squad were junior Deion Pruitt (Ann Arbor/Huron) and senior Taylor Polzin (Sturgis) with times of 26:25 and 26:53, respectively.

Despite a tough showing, the men finished third overall with 71 points behind Calvin College (18 points) and Hope College (68 points).

For the women, Kettle’s finishing kick pulled her up to third place overall in the 6K event with a time of 22:16. Running with Kettle for a majority of the race was junior Amanda Weaver (Marshall), who finished seconds behind Kettle with a time of 22:20. Weaver earned an all-MIAA second team award.

The third, fourth, and fifth runners for Albion were all first-year athletes. Rachel Derocher (White Lake/Holly) finished the course in a time of 23:09. Victoria Sochor (Portland) and Megan Wickens (Livonia/Franklin) finished close to each other, with times of 23:51 and 24:03, respectively.

Finishing the varsity squad were juniors Amanda Miley (Redford/Redford Union) and Ashley Miracle (Redford/Redford Union) who were just seconds apart with times of 24:42 and 24:48, respectively.

Sophomore Emily Ten Eyck’s (Gregory/Stockbridge) finishing time of 27:24 landed her over a minute personal best from the previous race and over three minutes better than her best time the previous season.

The women finished in a solid third place with 91 points behind Hope College (43 points) and Calvin College (46 points) but ahead of Adrian (112 points).

The top 10 members of each team will be heading to Oberlin, Ohio, Nov. 12 to compete in the Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships.