WINONA LAKE – As part of Homecoming weekend at Grace College, the Lancers’ cross country team hosted the Lancer Invitational on a chilly Saturday morning.

The men and women both placed second in the competition at Miller Field. Freshman Nathan Lane highlighted Grace’s efforts and was the fastest scoring runner in the race, finishing in a time of 26:39 to lead all attached runners.

Fellow freshman Tyler Houvener was second for the men’s team in 27:14, and sophomore Brandon Smith was third in 27:35. Collin Chupp (28:32) and Hunter Reed (28:39) rounded out the top-five scorers, and Austin Yoder was in the mix at 28:45. The men’s team placed second out of eight.

“Nathan [Lane] ran a superb race today. Posting a time of 26:39 on our course at this time of year is impressive,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “The rest of our guys also ran very well, especially considering the cool and windy conditions and the fact that the course was a bit soft after all the rain this week. With three freshmen and two sophomores in our top six, I’m excited about what’s ahead for this team.”

Katelyn McCullough led the Lady Lancers’ squad in a time of 19:55, finishing with the sixth-fastest time among attached runners. Megan Gast was second for the women with a time of 21:01.

The next three runners for the Lady Lancers finished within a span of six seconds. Creigh Ogle (21:25), Alexis Nelson (21:27) and Sarah Hoff (21:31) rounded out the top five for Grace’s women’s squad. The women placed second out of nine teams.

“The women ran a very solid team race. Katelyn [McCullough] did a good job up front, and our next six runners all finished within 46 seconds of each other,” Raymond said. “When our pack moves up a little as the year moves forward, we will have the chance to do even better as a team.”

The Lancers resume competition on Friday with the Bethel Invitational in South Bend.