GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Grace's cross country team battled against some of the best teams in the country on Saturday at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge.

The women's squad impressed with a fourth-place finish despite racing without a full squad. The team finished behind only a trio of teams ranked in the top-5 of the NAIA.

The men battled to a 22nd-place showing.

The women's team combined for a team-time of 1:32:01. Leah Emch produced a strong time of 18:10.6, leading the women in 12th place overall.

Grace's next four runners finished in a tight grouping. Grace Pettit grabbed 30th place (18:25.5), and she was followed by Chloe Gibson right behind her in 18:26.9.

Just three seconds behind those two were Krysta Stanko (18:29.0) and Faith Spain (18:29.9).

Esther Crane earned 51st place on the day, ending her race in 18:43.6. Heidi Spahr rounded out Grace's top-seven in 19:30.1.

The men's unit was led by freshman Brady Hicks. He ran 25:18.5 to finish in 53rd place.

Fellow freshman Brayden Mainwaring was next in line with a time of 25:55.4, and Austin Wilson was not far behind in 26:02.6.

The next four Lancers remained within range of each other. Zeke Benedict was fourth for Grace with a time of 26:11.2, and Matt Urbina was four seconds behind in 26:15.0.

John Young (26:27.0) and Jerry Troyer (26:32.6) completed Grace's first-seven finishers.

The Lancers will now turn their attention to the postseason. Grace will tackle the Crossroads League Championship on Nov. 6.

FULL RACE RESULTS