HOUGHTON, N.Y. – Grace College’s cross country team competed at the 2015 NCCAA National Championships on Saturday.

The women’s team placed 7th out of 21, and the men’s squad finished 11th out of 18 and had the best team time of the season.

“I’m very pleased with the way we ran today,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “Ten of our 12 runners ran faster than last week at our league meet, so it was a positive way to end the season.”

Katelyn McCullough, who earned All-Crossroads League honors last week, led the Lady Lancers with a 23rd-place finish of 19:13. Freshman sisters Ariel Arellano and Raven Arellano both had top-50 finishes out of 142 runners. Ariel placed 31st in 19:34, and Raven was 20:10 for 45th place.

Sarah Hoff was fourth for Grace in 21:14, Karla Singer crossed the finish line in 21:35, and Liz Fox was next in 22:11.

“Our goal for the women was a top-10 finish so coming in seventh was a great effort,” Raymond said. “Kate[lyn McCullough] ran a solid race up front and only missed All-American honors by a few places. Ariel and Raven [Arellano] ran very well, and Sarah [Hoff] ran her best race of the season.”

On the men’s side, sophomore Tyler Houvener was Grace’s top finisher with a 40th-place showing of 26:54. Brandon Smith was not far behind in 27:06.

Sam Hall (27:29) and Joel Bertelsen (27:33) were close behind each other, and Brendan Hamilton rounded out the top five in 28:42.

“Our guys finished with their best team time of the year so we feel good about placing 11th,” Raymond said. “Tyler [Houvener] and Brandon [Smith] posted their best individual times of this year, and Sam [Hall] was very close to his season best. This result should build confidence in our young team.”

Katelyn McCullough will officially conclude the cross country season at the NAIA National Championships on Nov. 21.