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you. Bryan VanHaitsma Senior co-captain
J j i t h the fall w e a t h e r cooling him down, f r e s h m a n Dylan Wade heads towards the finish line at the Hope Invitational. Held at Van Raatle Farms, the r u n n e r s w o u n d their w a y s t h r o u g h fields of wild flowers. (PR Photo)
eginning with a boom, the metis cross country team won the w J P Invitational at the start of the season. In his first appearance in a college meet, freshman Dylan Wade took center stage. Junior Paul Berke c a m e in less than a minute later, with sophomores Joe Veldman and Garrett Childs, senior Jeff Kauffman and freshman Keith Cravotta following close behind. Everyone's times progressively improved throughout the season. The team formed a close bond and grew together. "It was almost like a big family," said senior co-captain Bryan V a n H a i t s m a , " T h e r e m u s t be something about running that does that to people because I can't think of many groups this large that get along so well and have such a singular focus as the cross country team." Coach Mark Northuis thought the significant number of freshmen runners benefitted the team as a whole. "Considering that it was young team, there was a high level of maturity and closeness. The guys always do things together, in and out of season. T h e r e ' s such a closeness that's developed early on during that first week of the season at Cran Hill Ranch." According to freshman Dylan W a d e , " I t is i m p o r t a n t to b e ' b o n d e d ' with your t e a m m a t e s , manily because you depend on them during the race. It is harder to run by yourself than with your teammates. "
The first conference meet was at Calvin. The Dutch finished second in this important meet. Sophomore Joe Veldman was the best runner, finishing fifth overall. Running close behind him were Wade in 7th, Berke in 10th, Kauffman in 15th. and Childs in 16th. Highlights of the Alma Invitational include Childs coming in first for the Dutch (8th overall) and after him were senior Mike Pittiglio in 17th, sophomore Tim Cupery in 31st, Cravotta in 32nd, and VanHaitsma in 37th. The team had to have a strong mind-set to concentrate on the following w e e k e n d , the M I A A Championships, during their race at Alma. It had been gradually approaching, but by the time of the Alma Invite, it was clear just how many people were anticipating the "big meet" coming up. The guys ended up taking second place in the conference meet: sophomore Joe Veldman and Wade were named A11-M1AA first team, and Childs and Berke were named AU-MIAA second team. C o - C a p t a i n and senior VanHaitsma has significant goals for next year's team; he believes they have much potential. "The team can build off of what we have this year. Our goal for next year should be challenging Calvin, who for so long has dominated the MIAA. If the team can pick up several good f r e s h m e n they will have a good chance of doing it. We can give Calvin a run for their money next year." ^
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By liristi DeaGhufl l.ki C r o s s
C o u n t r y -VT