UPLAND, Ind. - Grace's cross country team excelled on Friday night at the Ray Bullock Invitational.
Grace's women won the team title in a competitive 14-team field, and the men placed sixth out of 15 teams.
The race was a preview of the 2026 Crossroads League Championships, which will be held on the same course on Nov. 6.
Grace's women produced a team time of 1:53:26, the fifth-fastest 6k team time in program history. The women, who are ranked No. 9 in the NAIA, beat No. 14 Marian (runner-up) by over 1:30 in an impressive showing. They also beat No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 15 Taylor and No. 17 Olivet Nazarene in the race.
Cece Mitchell was the third-fastest NAIA runner in the race, crossing the finish line in 22:23.8. Her time was the 10th-fastest 6k time in team history.
The women had five of the top-11 runners in the race. Grace Pettit was fifth in 22:37.6.
Leah Emch (22:45.5) and Krysta Stanko (22:46.7) were a second apart, and Chloe Gibson was 11th-fastest overall with a time of 22:53.0.
Faith Spain (23:13.6) and Esther Crane (23:19.3) finished in a pack, rounding out Grace's top-seven runners. All seven runners placed in the top-21 overall for NAIA finishers.
"I knew the women could run well, but they produced an absolutely dominant performance," said Grace head coach Brian Dewey. "They ran smart and confident and enjoyed their races today. We had lots of PRs or near-PRs on a fairly honest course that isn't one of the faster ones we run at."
The men earned a team time of 2:13:39 in a field with seven total Crossroads League teams.
Freshman Brady Hicks was Grace's top finisher; he produced a stellar time of 25:58.0. Austin Wilson in 21st place (26:11.8) was not far behind Hicks.
Brayden Mainwaring (26:56.5) and Matt Urbina (27:07.8) were Grace's No. 3 and 4 runners.
John Young (27:25.8) and Zeke Benedict (27:26.4) remained closely tied together, and Jerry Troyer (27:42.5) was Grace's seventh runner.
"The men took a really good step forward. They ran right around the same times they ran on much faster courses earlier this year. That says a lot considering the first part of today's course is pretty solid, but the last 2-3k is a gut check," Dewey explained. "I think this shows we will look much more capable as we get to the end of this season."
The Lancers will have one more tune-up race before embracing the postseason. Grace will run in Michigan at the Great Lakes Challenge on Oct. 24.
RACE RESULTS
