Men’s Cross Country Team Places 24th in Nation
Competing at the NJCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Championships, the MCC squad placed 24th out of the 39 teams that qualified for the national championships.
Matt Kring (Whitehall, MI/Whitehall) led the Jayhawks in 94th place in 28:44.80 in the 8K race held Saturday at the Ocotillo Golf Club in Hobbs, N.M. South Plains’ Kemoy Campbell was first in 25:22.08
The other MCC finishers were: Jacob Hernandez (Ludington, MI/Mason Country Central) 103rd in 28:58.03, Kyle Starr (Grant, MI/Grant) 106th in 29:03.03, Devon Joslin (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 179th in 30:14.23, Joshua Wehr (Twin Lake, MI/Holton) 224th in 31:17.66 and Jordan Vroma (Allendale, MI/Allendale) 232nd in 31:29.67.
Paradise Valley won the team tile with 54 points, followed by Garden City cc 113, Central Arizona 128, North Iowa Area CC 200, Johnson County CC 220, El Paso CC 240, Spartanburg Methodist 267, and Lansing CC 303. MCC was 24th with 644 points.
Men’s Cross Country Ranked 19th in Nation
The Muskegon Community College men’s cross country team, which is headed to the NJCAA Div. I National Championship meet on Nov. 12 in Hobbs, N.M., was ranked 19th in the Hill N Dale cross county national poll released on Nov. 3.
For the Jayhawks, who will compete in the nationals at New Mexico Junior College, the ranking was their highest of the season, according to MCC Coach Mike Smith.
Central Arizona College was ranked first with 64 points, while MCC was 19th with 496 points. In all, six teams from MCC’s talent-laden Region XII were voted among the Top 25.
Kring Earns All-Region, Leads Fifth Place Men’s Cross Country
MCC’s Matt Kring (Whitehall, MI/Whitehall) captured all-region accolades for his ninth place finish that led the Jayhawks’ men’s cross country team to fifth place at the NJCAA Region XII Championship meet Saturday in Lansing, MI.
Lansing CC took first with 41 points, followed by Vincennes 82, Mott 88, Oakland 94 and MCC with 112.
The Jayhawks have qualified as a team for the NJCAA national championship meet on Nov. 12 at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, N.M.
“Our times were incredible,” said MCC Coach Mike Smith. “We have never been that fast before. Last year at the same meet and same place, we ran 2:18.30. On Saturday, we ran 2:15.30. We took off three minutes in a year. Every had a personal best. Those times would normally take second or third in the region, but I think our region is so strong that we’ll place seven teams in the Top 25 at nationals.”
The top 10 finishers at Lansing’s Grand Woods Park earned all-region honors. Lansing CC’s Austin Alcala won the 8K race in 25:35. Kring placed fourth in 26:05.5.. The other Jayhawks finishers were: Kyle Starr (Grant, MI/Grant) 19th in 26:53, Jake Hernandez (Ludington, MI/Mason County Central) 21st in 26:59, Devon Joslin (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 32nd in 27:36, and Josh Wehr (Twin Lake, MI/Holton) 36th 27:46.
MCC’s Kring Places Third at Jayhawk Cross Country Invite
MCC’s Matt Kring (Whitehall, MI/Whitehall) took third place to lead the hosts to a fourth place finish at the men’s cross country Jayhawk Invitational on Friday afternoon at University Park Golf Course.
Lansing CC ran away with the meet taking five of the top eight places for 23 points. Hope was second with 63, while Mott CC scored 70 to edge MCC with 78 points.
Austin Alcala of Lansing CC led the field across the 8K race with his time of 25:33. Teammate Ryan Konen was second in 25:43. Kring was third in 26:40.
The other Jayhawk point scorers were: Kyle Starr (Grant, MI/Grant) 14th in 27:13, Jake Hernandez (Ludington, MI/Mason Country Central) 16th in 27:22, Devon Joslin (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 21st in 27:55, Josh Wehr (Twin Lake, MI/Holton) 24th in 28:32, Jordan Vroma (Allendale, MI/Allendale) 25th in 29:03, and Lucas Johnson (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) 28th in 31:09.
“That was our best team ever,” said MCC Coach Mike Smith of his squad’s 2:17.45. “Last year, we finished 19th in the nation. If we continue to post those times, we’ll do better at nationals this year.”
The NJCAA Div. I cross country championship is scheduled for Nov. 12 at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, N.M.
MCC Hosts Jayhawk Cross Country Invitational Friday in Only Home Meet this Season
Local cross country fans will have their only chance to watch the MCC men’s and women’s teams in action at home this season when they host the Jayhawk Invitational on Friday at University Park Golf Course.
The 5K women’s race begins at 3:30 p.m., while the 8K men’s competition starts at 4:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The course is located adjacent to MCC on 2100 Marquette Ave.
In addition to MCC, the competing teams include the Michigan State University freshman, the University of Michigan freshmen, Grand Valley State University freshmen, the Hope College JVs, Mott CC and Lansing CC.
For more information, contact MCC Athletics Office at (231) 777-0381.
Men’s Cross Country Takes Third in Eight-Team CC Race at Michigan Intercollegiate Championships
MCC placed third among the eight community college teams entered in the Michigan Intercollegiate meet held Friday afternoon at Hillsdale College.
The Jayhawks finished behind Lansing CC and Mott.
Sophomore Matt Kring (Whitehall, MI/Whitehall) led all Jayhawk runners with his 68th place finish in 28:22.10 across the 8K course. The other MCC finishers were: Kyle Starr (Grant, MI/Grant) 83rd in 28:54.40, Devon Joslin (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 103rd in 29:50.46, Josh Wehr (Twin Lake, MI/Holton) placed 110th in 30:01.03, Jordan Vroma (Allendale, MI/Allendale) 145th in 32:37.61; and Jake Hernandez (Ludington, MI/Mason County Central) 154th in 33:05.94.
Joe Graves of Grand Valley State led all runners in 26:08.387. The host Hillsdale College team finished first.
Men’s Cross Country Places 8th at Lansing CC Invite
The MCC men’s cross country placed eight out of 18 teams at the Lansing CC Invitational held Friday afternoon at Grand Woods Park in Lansing, MI.
Sophomore Matt Kring (Whitehall, MI/Whitehall) led the Jayhawks with his 20th place finish in 26:46. The other top MCC harriers were: Kyle Starr (Grant, MI/Grant)36th in 27:23; Jacob Hernadez (Ludington, MI/Mason County Central)37th in 27:24; Josh Wehr (Twin Lake, MI/Holton) 61st in 28:50; and Devon Joslin (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 64th in 29:04.
“Our team time of 2:19:29 was our best of the season by two minutes,” noted MCC Coach Mike Smith, whose Jayhawks were third best among the eight junior college squads in the meet.
The other MCC finishers were: Jordan Vroma (Allendale, MI/Allendale) 67th in29:16, Lucas Johnson (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) 83rdin 31:29,and Bobby Munro (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 37:14.
Kring Paces MCC Men at Spartan Invite
Matt Kring (Whitehall, MI/Whitehall) led all MCC runners with his 116th place finish at the Spartan Invitational Friday afternoon at Michigan State.No team scores were kept in the eight kilometer race held at Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing. Eastern Michigan’s Terefe Ejigu from New Zealand led the 257-runner field with his time of 24:23.Other MCC finishers were: Kyle Starr (Grant, MI/Grant) 179th in 27:56, Jake Hernandez (Ludington, MI/Mason County Central) 191st in 28:17, Devon Joslin (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 208th in 28:55, Josh Wehr (Twin Lake, MI/Holton) 214th in 29:20, Jordan Vroma (Allendale, MI/Allendale) 232nd in 30:34 and Lucas Johnson (Muskegon,, MI/Mona Shores) 244th in 32:21.
Men’s Cross Country Third at Jets Invite
The Muskegon CC men’s cross country squad placed third in the four-team Jackson CC Jets Invitational on Friday afternoon in Jackson, Mich.Lansing CC won the meet with 19 points, followed by Mott CC with 57, Muskegon CC with 70 and Jackson CC with 85. Ryan Konen, who won the four-mile race in 22:26.7, was one of five Lansing CC runners placing in the top seven.
MCC’s Matt Kring (Whitehall, MI/Whitehall) placed fifth in 22:57.5. Theother Jayhawks point scorers were: 11thplace Kyle Starr (Grant, MI/Grant)in 23:29, 16th place Jake Hernandez (Ludington, MI/Mason County Central) in 23:39, 25th place Devon Joslin (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer)in 24:30 and 30th place Josh Wehr (Twin Lake, MI/Holton) in 25:12.
Cross Country Team Fourth at Hope
The MCC men’s cross country squad opened the 2011 season on Saturday at Hope College, where Mike Smith’s Jayhawks team placed fourth in the four-team Vanderbilt Invitational meets.
Albion College won the men’s meet with 24 points followed by Hope with 37, Cornerstone with 74 and MCC with 103. Hope’s Nathan Love led the field in 26:14. MCC freshman Kyle Starr (Grant, MI) paced the Jayhawks with his 18th place finish in 28:03. Sophomore Matt Kring (Whitehall, MI) was 19th in 28:38 and sophomore Jake Hernandez 20thin 28:59. Rounding out the MCC scoring were freshman Devon Joslin (Muskegon, MI) 22nd in 29:47 and sophomore Josh Wehr (Twin Lake, MI) 24th in 31:9.