MARION – Ariel Arellano highlighted a strong showing by Grace’s cross country team at the IWU Invitational on Friday. The freshman crossed the finish line in 18:55 to place seventh out of 109 runners, helping the Lady Lancers to a third-place showing in the meet. The men’s team were sixth out of 10 teams in the meet. The Lady Lancers’ team time of 1:39.16 broke the program record as four of Grace’s top six runners set personal bests. Arellano became the first female runner at Grace to break the 19-minute barrier since MariJean Wegert and Ashley Thomas in 2010. On the women’s side, Katelyn McCullough just missed a top-10 showing and ended in 13th place with a time of 19:09. Raven Arellano finished the race in 20:04, Karla Singer ended in 20:33, and Emma Mitchell was less than a second behind Singer. Grace’s women’s team finished with a team score of 113, only behind NAIA No. 9-ranked Taylor and No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan in the race. “The ladies did a very nice job today. The course is the easiest we will run on this year, but posting so many PR's this early in the year is still impressive,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “Ariel [Arellano] looked really strong today, and Katelyn [McCullough] was close behind. I also must compliment Emma [Mitchell] and Julia [Neal] for running very nice races.” The men’s team was led by freshmen. Grace’s top three finishers were all freshmen running their first collegiate 8k race. Grace was paced by Joel Bertelsen, who finished in 27:09 for 31st place. Fellow freshmen Sam Hall (27:31) and Brendan Hamilton (27:35) were second and third for Grace. Brandon Smith crossed the finish line in 27:52, and Tyler Houvener ended in 28:07. “I’m pleased with the freshmen and the way they ran. They now have a feel for the 8k distance and will continue to improve,” Raymond said. “Fortunately it’s a long season, and we have time for our entire men’s group to move forward.” Grace’s next race is Sept. 19 with the Friendship Invitational at Cedarville University.
Men’s Soccer Friday in Spring Arbor, Mich. Grace’s men’s soccer team continued its hot streak with a 2-1 victory over Cornerstone on Friday night. The Lancers (4-2) won their fourth straight contest thanks to a pair of second-half goals. “We weren’t perfect tonight, and we can continue to learn,” said Grace head coach Matt Hotchkin. “We struggled to make the necessary adjustments in the first half, but our guys were hopeful at halftime and we knew we could do the job. We have less than 24 hours to prepare for a quality Roosevelt team, and we will need all the rest we can get.” The first half of action between Grace and the Golden Eagles (2-3) proved to be tame offensively compared to what was coming. The teams combined for seven shots with Cornerstone holding a slight 4-3 advantage. Both sides had two shots on goal in the first half as the match remained scoreless until halftime. The excitement started in the 63rd minute. A well-worked attack from Grace resulted in an attack on the right side of the field. Kyle Hamlin linked up with Mitchell Zeilenga, and Zeilenga slotted home his first career goal at the 62:14 mark. Cornerstone responded eight minutes later with the equalizer. The Golden Eagles capitalized on Grace’s miscommunication in the backfield to tie the match with 20 minutes remaining. Thomas Tydeman then found his moment to shine. The junior forward took a pass from Jon Christensen and unleashed a laser of a goal from deep in the 75th minute to beat Cornerstone’s goalkeeper. The Golden Eagles pressed hard for their second equalizer of the match, taking four shots and a corner kick over the final 15 minutes. But Grace’s defense denied each opportunity to hold on for the win. Robbie Barnhill picked up the victory in goal for Grace, making six saves in 90 minutes. The Lancers were outshot 17-8 in the match, and each team took five corner kicks. “Cornerstone is a good team, and they are scrappy. In the second half we did a better job moving forward, and the game seemed to open up a bit,” Hotchkin said. “They missed a couple of good chances, but so did we. Thomas Tydeman’s goal was a real cracker from far out. But this was a team effort with many guys helping and supporting the collective unit.” The Lancers will regroup with a quick turnaround on Saturday. Grace plays Roosevelt at 4 p.m. to conclude the Spring Arbor Invitational.
