HAMILTON, N.Y.—The Houghton College cross country team was led by Joanna Friesen (Sellersville, PA, Sellersville) and Tim McGowan (Dansville, NY, Dansville) at the competitive Hamilton College Invitational on Saturday.

The women's team finished 9^th out of 16 teams while the men finished 14^th out of 17 teams. 

In the women's 5k race, it was Joanna Friesen who turned in the top time for the Highlanders with a 17^th place overall with a time of 18:42.4.  Cara Davenport (Salem, NJ, Salem) ran a 19:42.1 to finish 38^th.  Christel Enriquez-Fisher (Colorado Springs, CO, William Mitchell) finished 46^th with a time of 20:02.5. 

"The women continue to impress me with their consistency in racing. None of them ever seem to have an off-day, and today wasn't any different. We have two main packs that really work together and push each other. Joanna Friesen continues to have a strong season and assert herself as one of the best runners in the region," said Head Coach Patrick Hager. 

In the men's 8k race, Timothy McGowan finished first for the Highlanders and 71^st overall with a time of 29:13.1. Luke DeBoer (Fortplain, NY, Fortplain) was not too far behind finishing with a time of 29:27.7 and earning 76^th overall.

Coach Hager said "the men had a bittersweet race, today. Our goal was to qualify for NCCAA Championships, but we fell short. Three of our top 5 had season or lifetime bests, but we didn't quite get the performances we needed from everybody. The guys ran hard, and it's tough for everyone to have their best day at once. A couple of them got sucked out too hard in the first mile and it hurt us a little bit at the end. Chaz Ormond and Jackson Baker both had lifetime bests and worked together through most of the race, which was fun to watch."

The Highlanders run again at Lock Haven Invite on Saturday, October 25^th at 1:00p.m.