The 2025 Portage Invitational on Saturday, October 4 was one for the record books! Unseasonably warm conditions for the month of October led meet directors to truncate the event. D1 and D2 junior varsity races were cancelled to allow the meet to finish before heat indices climbed to dangerous levels. Fortunately, the JV teams were able to run in the open race at 8:15 AM with some of the most favorable racing conditions of the day. Despite the meet constraints, the Portage Invitational still brought the season’s toughest competition and the Sailor teams raced well, placing ahead of a number of state-ranked teams. The men’s varsity team finished in 14th place out of 51 teams, scoring 476 points. Leading the way for the boys varsity team was senior Thad VanderLaan who finished in the 41st spot with a time of 16:56. Junior Ben Verlin was next across the line for the SC varsity men in 80th place with a time of 17:34. Freshman Hudson Kemper was the third Sailor finisher, running a time of 17:36 and securing 84th place. Junior Josiah Rozema (18:00; 122nd place) and Freshman Nate Zondervan (18:35; 164th place) rounded out the top 5 finishers for SCHS. The varsity men are currently ranked 12th in Division 2. The women’s varsity team ended in 4th place out of 24 teams with 141 points, finishing just 7 points behind regional and D2 state rival Grand Rapids Christian. The women’s varsity team was led by senior Chloe Rinzema, finishing in 11th place with a time of 18:57. Sophomore Tiffany DeMaagd was the 2nd finisher for the Lady Sailors crossing the line in 13th place with a time of 18:59. Freshman Lily VanEyk took the 3rd spot for South Christian, finishing in 29th place with a time of 19:44. Freshman Noelle Hulst (20:28; 57th place) and freshman Isabelle Oostema (20:58; 72nd place) ran tough races as well, contributing to the team’s strong finish. The varsity women continue to hold their 4th place state rank in Division 2. The men’s junior varsity team was able to run in the Glory Days 5K at 8:15 AM and finished with a score of 114 points. Freshman Dylan Thome led the way for the JV team, finishing in 22nd place with a time of 20:46. Junior Trent Ponstein was the next Sailor finisher, running a time of 21:14 and crossing the line in 27th place. Senior Doug Gaylord (21:54 SR; 38th place), Senior Shane Mier (21:55 PR; 39th place), and Sophomore Victor Nogueira (22:28 PR; 40th place) made up the remaining JV score. The women’s junior varsity team also ran the Glory Days 5K at 8:15 AM and finished with 44 points. Senior Grace Kooyer was the first to cross the finish line for the Sailors in 4th place with a time of 21:53. Sophomore Delaney Burgess was next across the line for SCHS, finishing with a time of 22:03 and in the 6th position. Senior Lili Zondervan finished in 13th place (22:41.4), freshman Natalie DeJager finished in 14th (22:41.7), and freshman Alexa DeVries finished in 18th place (23:03 PR) to make up the remaining score. Full race results can be found at https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/256643/info.