JON BEERBOWER
STAFF WRITER
10/23/2023
As the end of October comes around, it means it’s time for the cross country season to come to an end. As the Scots move towards the MIAA finals on Oct. 28, we reflect on the performances that got them to the places they are now
Alma College cross country opened their season in the Jeff Drenth invitational at Central Michigan University on Sep. 1. Alma had a good performance on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Lauren Brawt (‘27) had the highest placing fifty-second with a time of 20:02.9 in her Alma College debut. On the men’s side Braxton Lamey (‘24) placed forty-third with a 16:19.6.
The Scots were back in action the following weekend as they ran in the Northwood Invitational in Midland MI. Both the men and the women finished third in their respective groups.
Brawt and Lamey both were the Scots top finishers again. Furthermore, for the women Chloe Cotton (‘27) finished twenty-seventh with a time of 20:56. On the men’s team Noah Murphy (‘26) finished twenty-sixth clocking in at 20:55.6.
The Northwood invitational showed a glimpse of what the season will hold with a solid men’s outing and a women’s team who saw first-years take the top 4 team performances.
The Scots looked to continue to improve as they ran in the Lansing Invitational. There were good runs by Bawt and Cotton as the team saw the pair of first-years finish thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth. Sophia Sanford (‘27) ran a 21:27.1 which was good enough for fourty-seventh place. Lamey finished thirty-fifth. Yet again the Scots showed that they want to compete in the MIAA this season.
The Scot’s only had to wait a week before they could get back out and look to improve once again. This time they were running in the Calvin Knight Invitational in Grand Rapids, MI.
The men ran great placing third out of 7 total teams while the women placed sixth out of 6 total teams. Once again, the women were powered by the first-year duo of Bawt and Cotton who finished twenty-sixth and thirtieth with only twelve seconds between the pair.
Braxton Lamey finished at the top once again for the Scots followed by Jet Reimers (‘27) who placed thirty-second in his Alma College debut. Reimers’ finish was good enough to place him at the second best spot in school history for an Alma Cross Country debut finish.
The Scots went back to work 2 weeks later. This time, they traveled down to Illinois to compete in the Augustana College Inter-Regional Rumble. Both the men’s and women’s teams ran solid times.
A new top finisher for the women at this invite was Caleigh Winters (‘25) who placed twenty-first with a time of 25:25.4. On the men’s side, Lamey placed twenty-first with a time of 26:39.6. He was followed by Reimers for a second straight meet who placed fifty-eighth by running a 27:29.9.
Now the Scots’ Cross Country team looks to the next goal; the MIAA Championships is in a week’s time. Both teams have proved themselves throughout the season and hope to hit personal bests in the high stakes end-of-season meet.
“We have been performing well all year and it’s so cool to watch the boys around me get better throughout the season. MIAAs is our biggest meet of the year and now is the time for us to get out there and run our best,” said Colton Chovanec (‘24).
For all the latest updates on the Alma Cross Country team, be sure to check almascots.com.
