Rio Grande's Laura Hamm (left) and Amarissa Kerns (right) both finished in the top 10 at Saturday's NAIA Great Lakes XC Challenge in Grand Rapids, Mich. Hamm placed eighth, while Kerns was the runner-up.

Posted: Oct 26, 2024

Kerns, Hamm crack Top 10 at Great Lakes Challenge

Rio Grande Sports Information
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The University of Rio Grande women's cross country team had just four runners in the White Division of Saturday's NAIA Great Lakes Challenge hosted by Aquinas College, but half of the quartet posted Top 10 outings on the 5k course at Riverside Park.
Junior Amarissa Kerns (Lancaster, OH) finished second in the field of 168 runners with a time of 18:29 - a little less than six seconds slower than Shawnee State University's Olivia Cisco, a transfer from Rio Grande.
The RedStorm also had an eighth-place finish from freshman Laura Hamm (South Point, OH), who posted a time of 19:21.
Also representing Rio in the event was redshirt junior Grace Forrest (Woodstock, OH), who was 52nd in a time of 20:41, and freshman Rebecca Spohn (New Concord, OH), who placed 132nd after crossing in 22:59.
Taylor University won the team crown with 49 points after having four of the top nine finishers.
Shawnee State was a distant second with 98 points, while Governors State (124 pts.) rounded out the top three.
Rio Grande will return to action on Nov. 9 in Evansville, Ind. at the River States Conference Championships.