Both placing 11th out of 45 teams, Calvin’s men’s and women’s cross country teams had a strong showing at the UW-Oshkosh AAE Invitational on Saturday.

The men had a score of 291 points, with top-finisher Zac Nowicki placing 34th with a time of 25:14 for 8K. The men utilized pack running, with only a 26-second gap separating Nowicki from Calvin’s number five runner. Calvin’s next four finishers were Andrew Philipose (47th), Jeff Meitler (66th), Mark DeJong (70th) and Jonathan Gingrich (74th).

For the women, Lauren Strohbehn’s time of 21:23 for 6K earned her an impressive fifth place finish. The next four runners were Autumn Vonk (62nd), Katie Diekema (73rd), Katherine McClain (76th) and Jessie Mulder (140th). The overall women’s score was 351 points.

“I was proud of how our team didn’t back down to the challenge of competing in a big meet,” said Strohbehn. “We competed hard, especially in the last kilometer, which was great to see! I was very thankful for this experience after all our team has been through, and I hope we can use it as a confidence-builder moving forward.”

The race acted as a prelude for Cross Country Division III Nationals, which will be held on the same course on November 21.