GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grace College cross country team took on the Great Lakes Challenge on Saturday in its final race before the Crossroads League Championships.

The women’s squad ended 11th out of 26 teams, and the men’s team finished 21st out of 25.

Katelyn McCullough had a standout performance. In the field of 296 runners, the junior placed 21st in a time of 19:36.

Ariel Arellano had a top-50 finish in 20:26, and Raven Arellano was 66th in 20:51. Karla Singer crossed the finish line in 21:49, Sarah Hoff ended the race in 22:05, and Liz Fox had a time of 22:29.

On the men’s side, Tyler Houvener was the Lancers’ top finisher in 28:01. Brandon Smith had a time of 28:54, and Brendan Hamilton was not far behind in 29:19. 

Sam Hall crossed the finish line in 30:42, and Tim Drew had a time of 34:32.

“With nearly 30 schools and a very tough course, this was a challenging meet for us. Even some of the top runners were nearly a minute slower than normal,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “Kate[lyn McCullough] had a very strong race. To place 21st out of almost 300 runners is a nice accomplishment. We held a couple of guys out to make sure they’re healthy at our conference meet, so the men’s team was a bit short-handed. But Tyler [Houvener] had one of his better races and should be ready for a big race in two weeks.”

The Lancers will take two weeks off before tackling the Crossroads League Championships at Huntington on Nov. 7.