Grace Women’s?Soccer Earns Top Seed At NCCAA Nationals
November 20, 2021 at 5:02 a.m.
Grace Women’s?Soccer Earns Top Seed At NCCAA Nationals
By Grace College Sports Information-
The Lady Lancers were announced as an at-large invitee to the nine-team tournament. It will be Grace’s ninth trip to the NCCAA tournament since 2009 under head coach Michael Voss.
Grace was awarded the No. 1 seed in the field. The tournament, which begins Nov. 29, will be held at the Austin-Tindall Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Fla.
The Lady Lancers are in a pool with Asbury and Central Christian. The winner of each of the three pools along with the best runner-up will play in the national semifinals with the championship to be held on Dec. 4.
Grace is in pursuit of its first national championship in program history. The Lady Lancers were ranked consistently in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll this season, currently sitting at No. 18 in the nation.
Grace Women's XC 15th In NAIA... Sauder All-American
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Kylie Sauder wrote her name in the record books at the NAIA Championship, becoming the first Grace female to earn NAIA All-American honors in cross country. Sauder, a freshman, placed 24th in the race and led the Lancers to a 15th-place team finish.
Sauder put herself into a good position early in the 5,000-meter race, running in the front pack on a soggy Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course. As the race strung out, she held on to finish in 18:48. The soft course made the finish times fairly slow, as only 38 of 338 runners produced a time under 19:00.
"Kylie executed her early positioning with a tactical prowess that supersedes her age," said Coach Jake Poyner. "For her first national championship event, she did wonderfully."
Two other Grace competitors finished in the top 100. Senior Heather Plastow completed her stellar cross country career in 58th place in 19:16, matching her finish spot from last season. Mallory Hiatt was close behind in 69th with a time of 19:22. Hiatt finished 110th a year ago.
Katie Acker (20:35) and Caroline Kolb (20:56), both freshman, completed the five scoring places for the Lancers. Anna Hulstedt (19:59) and Elizabeth Moore (21:31), filled out the top seven.
"To have raced three weekends in a row and for all they accomplished in the last twenty days, I've got nothing but respect," commented Poyner. We're excited for the future and we'll make sure we celebrate this historic season."
This marked the first ever appearance for the Grace women's program at the NAIA Cross Country Championships. The Lancers were one of five teams competing at the event from the Crossroads League. Taylor ended up 4th and Indiana Wesleyan was 9th. After Grace, Huntington placed 23rd and St. Francis 25th.
Grace Men's XC 22nd in NAIA... Hernandez-Rios All-American
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Bryan Hernandez-Rios completed his breakout season by placing 16th in the NAIA Cross Country Championships and becoming the first Lancer runner to earn NAIA All-American honors since 2000. Hernandez-Rios paced Grace to a 22nd-place team finish at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course.
Rain throughout the week made the footing soft and soggy for the 330 runners, and produced slower than normal times on the 8,000-meter course. Hernandez-Rios' time of 25:34 was a minute off his personal best set earlier this year. The second Lancer runner, Logan Rufenacht, finished in 106th-place with a time of 26:49, also a minute slower than his season best.
"Bryan's performance epitomizes his season," said Coach Jake Poyner. "He asserted himself in the right position, fought for every point and raced with confidence."
Brandon Kleber was the third runner for Grace in 27:09, followed by Dimitri Margaritidis in 27:28. Margaritidis got caught in a crowd and was pushed and fell off the course during the early part of the race. He lost nearly 75 spots by the time he recovered.
Macallister Cheek (27:44), Justin Van Prooyen (27:48) and Isaac Beatty (28:35) completed the lineup for the Lancers.
"We learned a lot today," commented Poyner. "For them to come this far and put it all on the line for one another, there is no more noble aspect of this sport. To have raced three weekends in a row and for all they accomplished in the last twenty days, I have nothing but respect."
The Crossroads League was well represented with a record six teams competing. Indiana Wesleyan was 3rd, followed by Huntington in 9th and Taylor in 11th. Goshen finished 24th and Marian 29th.
The appearance at the NAIA National Cross Country Championships was the first for the Grace men's program since 2002 and just the third all-time. None of the seven runners who competed for the Lancers are seniors, and all are expected to return next year.
The Lady Lancers were announced as an at-large invitee to the nine-team tournament. It will be Grace’s ninth trip to the NCCAA tournament since 2009 under head coach Michael Voss.
Grace was awarded the No. 1 seed in the field. The tournament, which begins Nov. 29, will be held at the Austin-Tindall Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Fla.
The Lady Lancers are in a pool with Asbury and Central Christian. The winner of each of the three pools along with the best runner-up will play in the national semifinals with the championship to be held on Dec. 4.
Grace is in pursuit of its first national championship in program history. The Lady Lancers were ranked consistently in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll this season, currently sitting at No. 18 in the nation.
Grace Women's XC 15th In NAIA... Sauder All-American
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Kylie Sauder wrote her name in the record books at the NAIA Championship, becoming the first Grace female to earn NAIA All-American honors in cross country. Sauder, a freshman, placed 24th in the race and led the Lancers to a 15th-place team finish.
Sauder put herself into a good position early in the 5,000-meter race, running in the front pack on a soggy Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course. As the race strung out, she held on to finish in 18:48. The soft course made the finish times fairly slow, as only 38 of 338 runners produced a time under 19:00.
"Kylie executed her early positioning with a tactical prowess that supersedes her age," said Coach Jake Poyner. "For her first national championship event, she did wonderfully."
Two other Grace competitors finished in the top 100. Senior Heather Plastow completed her stellar cross country career in 58th place in 19:16, matching her finish spot from last season. Mallory Hiatt was close behind in 69th with a time of 19:22. Hiatt finished 110th a year ago.
Katie Acker (20:35) and Caroline Kolb (20:56), both freshman, completed the five scoring places for the Lancers. Anna Hulstedt (19:59) and Elizabeth Moore (21:31), filled out the top seven.
"To have raced three weekends in a row and for all they accomplished in the last twenty days, I've got nothing but respect," commented Poyner. We're excited for the future and we'll make sure we celebrate this historic season."
This marked the first ever appearance for the Grace women's program at the NAIA Cross Country Championships. The Lancers were one of five teams competing at the event from the Crossroads League. Taylor ended up 4th and Indiana Wesleyan was 9th. After Grace, Huntington placed 23rd and St. Francis 25th.
Grace Men's XC 22nd in NAIA... Hernandez-Rios All-American
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Bryan Hernandez-Rios completed his breakout season by placing 16th in the NAIA Cross Country Championships and becoming the first Lancer runner to earn NAIA All-American honors since 2000. Hernandez-Rios paced Grace to a 22nd-place team finish at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course.
Rain throughout the week made the footing soft and soggy for the 330 runners, and produced slower than normal times on the 8,000-meter course. Hernandez-Rios' time of 25:34 was a minute off his personal best set earlier this year. The second Lancer runner, Logan Rufenacht, finished in 106th-place with a time of 26:49, also a minute slower than his season best.
"Bryan's performance epitomizes his season," said Coach Jake Poyner. "He asserted himself in the right position, fought for every point and raced with confidence."
Brandon Kleber was the third runner for Grace in 27:09, followed by Dimitri Margaritidis in 27:28. Margaritidis got caught in a crowd and was pushed and fell off the course during the early part of the race. He lost nearly 75 spots by the time he recovered.
Macallister Cheek (27:44), Justin Van Prooyen (27:48) and Isaac Beatty (28:35) completed the lineup for the Lancers.
"We learned a lot today," commented Poyner. "For them to come this far and put it all on the line for one another, there is no more noble aspect of this sport. To have raced three weekends in a row and for all they accomplished in the last twenty days, I have nothing but respect."
The Crossroads League was well represented with a record six teams competing. Indiana Wesleyan was 3rd, followed by Huntington in 9th and Taylor in 11th. Goshen finished 24th and Marian 29th.
The appearance at the NAIA National Cross Country Championships was the first for the Grace men's program since 2002 and just the third all-time. None of the seven runners who competed for the Lancers are seniors, and all are expected to return next year.
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