The cross country state finals weren't enough for four Eagle runners.  Liam Imhoff, Bayla Curtis, Shelby Zimmer, and Elliana Max competed last Saturday in the Meet of Champions at Shepherd.  All raced well, but Zimmer ran 19:53, a new personal record (PR), in the elite open race!   Max, having been drafted by team Michigan Running Foundation, competed in the elite team race and hit a new PR of 18:29.  

Additionally, Zimmer and Max were awarded academic all-state certificates at the Michigan Track & Cross Country Coaches Association's (MITCA) annual conference last weekend.  Congratulations!

It was a beautiful morning for a regional cross country race at Allendale.  The teams were primed and ready to chase a personal record (PR) or even qualify for the state finals.  

Out of box 16, Elliana Max led the race from start to finish and continued the tradition of having an individual champion from Kent City.  Shelby Zimmer moved her way up to sixth place with another solid race.  Joselyn Vogel ran her lifetime best (20:42) to earn the 13th medal and all-region honors. Bayla Curtis ran one of her better times in 35th with Brooke Scheidel right behind in 36th with her new PR (22:07).   

 >

 >

 >

 >

Although the girls raced well, the Lady Eagles finished 4th of the 16 teams, but Max, Zimmer, and Vogel qualified individually.  Fourth place is the first team that gets to stay home.  As a coach, you think you’ve seen it all, and then something crazy happens.  The team in front of Kent City mistakenly ran 9 girls instead of the allowed 7, so the Lady Eagles are invited to the state finals at the Michigan International Speedway next Saturday!  

For the boys, the Eagles started and finished strong!  Five of the boys cranked out a new PR on the day!  Liam Imhoff charged to the finish in 43rd place with his new PR (18:11) and Sam Kik was close behind (18:13) with his PR.  Brandon McCullough was only 3 places back.  Emmett Elsner was three more places back, having his best race of the season (18:53).  Another ten seconds and Jaxon Max raced to his new PR (19:03).  Dakoda Worley was the fifth Eagle to run his PR, breaking 20 minutes for the first time (19:46).  Brayden Bloom completed the varsity team in 77th.  As a team, the boys finished 10th, up from their #11 seed.  

 >

 >

   >>

  >

>

 >

Division 3 girls will compete at the Michigan International Speedway at 10:10 on Saturday, November 1.  

 >

It’s official!  The girls’ cross country team wrapped up its CSAA White Conference Championship at the final jamboree at Morley Stanwood.  The girls accumulated only 29 points, to second place Central Montcalm’s 40.  The Lady Eagles claimed first place at each of the three jamborees this fall.  

All five of the girls finished in the top ten and earned all conference status!  Elliana Max was the individual conference champion, running to first in each meet.  Shelby Zimmer ended up running a PR to move up to 2nd place overall.  Joselyn Vogel finished 7th in today’s race, but earned the 6th spot out of the all conference runners.  Bayla Curtis finished 8th overall for the league.  Brooke Scheidel ran to 10th place, and finished in a tie for the final 9th spot in all conference scoring.  

Brandon McCullough finished 7th–the first red jersey to cross the line.  Liam Imhoff was 9th with Sam Kik in 12th.  Jaxon Max was 14th and Emmett Elsner strayed a bit behind in 15th.  Imhoff, Kik, Max, and Elsner earned all conference honorable mention for their consistent efforts. Braydon Bloom finished as the sixth man in 21st with Eli Gee earning a varsity point as the 7th man in 25th.  David Cox and Dakoda Worley were 29th and 30th.  

As a team the boys edged Lakeview by 3 points for second place in the CSAA for the third consecutive time this year.

 >

  >

The Eagle harriers will compete in the regional meet at Allendale on October 25.  

  >

 >

The cross country teams travelled to Saranac for the Color Run, a 14 team invitational and most of the Eagle runners had a fantastic outing.  

The girls team may need a shopping cart to hold all of their trophies and medals that they’ve accumulated this season.  They easily dominated the invite with only 26 points.  Host Saranac was 2nd with 69 points.  Elli Max led from start to finish and missed her season best by 1 second.  Shelby Zimmer moved up to 2nd, only 7 seconds off her PR.  Joselyn Vogel earned the 6th place medal with Bayla Curtis right behind in 7th; Curtis raced to a new PR (21:56) in that effort.  Wrapping up the Eagle scoring was Brooke Scheidel who grabbed the 16th place medal.  

 >

Kent City boys finished a solid 4th place wearing their pink socks in honor of breast cancer awareness month.  Earning medals were Brandon McCullough in 14th and Liam Imhoff 2 steps behind in 15th.  Additionally, Sam Kik earned a medal in 23rd place with 18:58.   Jaxon Max just missed a medal in 31st, and Brayden Bloom was in our top scoring five for the first time in 37th.  Dakoda Worley and Emmett Elsner completed the varsity seven, but Elijah Gee and David Cox had strong races in the JV division.  Imhoff (18:24), Max (19:37), Bloom (20:06), Gee (21:55), and Cox (22:27) all shattered their previous personal records and set new ones!

 >

 >

 >

  >

 >

 >

 >

 >
The Eagles will finish their CSAA season with the final White Jamboree at Morley Stanwood next Tuesday.  

Even though it doesn’t feel like fall has arrived yet, one of the great autumn events for the cross country team is traveling to the Portage Invite where the crowd is estimated to be around 15,000!  

In the division 3 girls’ race, 41 teams from all over Michigan (and beyond) competed.  Elliana Max raced her season best time (18:51) to finish 3rd and led the state ranked Eagles to a 7th place tie.  Shelby Zimmer cruised to her new personal record (20:20) in 18th place as did Joselyn Vogel (21:02) in 38th.  Those three also earned prestigious Portage medals.  Another PR came from Brooke Scheidel in 22:15 and Bayla Curtis was the fifth Lady Eagle and final scorer.  

The boys team didn’t fare quite as well, but still finished 25th as a team.  Liam Imhoff led the team in 18:55 in 121st place out of the field of 418 runners.  Brandon McCullough (128th)  and Sam Kik (170th) were his support crew.  Dakoda Worley finished 4th for the team in 198th with his new PR of 20:03.  Emmett Elsner and Jaxon Max were only 2 seconds apart as the 5th and 6th men.  Brayden Bloom was the final varsity scorer. David Cox and Eli Gee competed as JV runners, Cox also achieved a new PR of 23:08!

Personal record runners below:  

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

The Eagles travel to Saranac for the Color Run on Tuesday.  

The Eagle harriers used home course advantage to put together a fabulous second CSAA jamboree on Tuesday.  

The girls’ team has now secured 50 percent of the 2025 conference title as they won with only 25 points.  The second place Central Montcalm Hornets had 41.  Elliana Max cruised to 1st place, solidifying her spot as the individual conference champion.  Shelby Zimmer rose up the ranks to finish 2nd, over a minute faster than her time a month ago on our course.  Joselyn Vogel also improved her finish place–5th place–with a new personal record (PR) time.  Both Bayla Curtis in 8th and Brooke Scheidel in 9th (PR) ran faster times as well.  Injured Hayla Goble still finished in 17th.  

The boys finished the first jamboree in 2nd, and worked hard to accomplish that feat again.  They finished with 59 points, just one ahead of Lakeview’s 60.  The trio of Brandon McCullough (9th), Liam Imhoff (10th), and Sam Kik worked together the entire race to lead the Eagles.  They are vying for all-conference positions within the league.  Jaxon Max led the next group, racing up to 14th place while Emmett Elsner was close behind in 16th.  Brayden Bloom moved up to 19th while dramatically improving his time.  Dakoda Worley was our final varsity scorer in 22nd.  Elijah Gee raced his best time of the year in 25th while David Cox was 32nd.  

Congratulations Eagles!

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

It was worth the long drive to Montabella last night for the Lady Eagle Cross Country Team.  The girls clinched the 9 team invite crown by finishing 1st (Elli Max), 3rd (Shelby Zimmer), 5th (Joselyn Vogel), 9th (Brooke Scheidel), and 15th (Hayla Goble).  The girls amassed only 32 points compared to second place Mason County Central’s 58.  Each of the girls brought home a medal.  

Most of the boys also claimed medals, but the overall championship eluded the guys.  Three different teams dominated the front part of the race and the Eagles ended with 44 points compared to Pine River’s and Mason County Eastern’s 41.  However, the Eagles put forth great effort even if the final score wasn’t in their favor.  Brandon McCullough led the team in 6th with Liam Imhoff behind in 7th.  Sam Kik sprinted his way back to 9th.  Emmett Elsner and Dakoda Worley surged up to 14th and 16th.  Jaxon Max was 20th, Brayden Bloom was 27th, and David Cox was 45th.

The Eagles will host the second CSAA White Jamboree next Tuesday behind the high school.  We’d love to see you there!  

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

On Saturday, the cross country teams competed for the first time in the Chargers Autumn Sunrise Invitational at Covenant Christian.  It was a good course for five of our hometown Eagles–Elliana Max, Shelby Zimmer, Sam Kik, Liam Imhoff, and Brayden Bloom–as they recorded their season or lifetime best performance!  Congratulations runners!

The girls didn’t run a complete team, so they didn’t earn a team score.  However, Elli Max and Zimmer both medaled for their fast performances.  Elli was 5th overall and first in the smaller school division.  Shelby was 17th overall and 3rd among the D3 schools.  Brooke Scheidel and Bayla Curtis also competed hard.  

As a team, the boys finished 5th.  Brandon McCullough in 28th, Sam Kik in 29th, Liam Imhoff in 30th were the first three Eagles and then Emmett Elsner in 38th, Jaxon Max in 39th, and Brayden Bloom were 41st to generate the team score.  Elijah Gee and David Cox competed in the JV race.  

Complete results can be found here:  https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/249598/info

The Eagles will travel to Montabella for a Homecoming week invitational on Wednesday afternoon.  

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

It was a great day to be an Eagle at the CSAA White cross country jamboree at Central Montcalm!

The girls’ team captured first place overall with an amazing set of finishes.  The first part of the meet was essentially a dual meet between Central Montcalm and KC.  Elliana Max claimed her first league win to lead the team.  Shelby Zimmer was an impressive 3rd place.  Joselyn Vogel was a solid 5th and Bayla Curtis was 7th.  Gutting out fantastic races were Hayla Goble and Brooke Scheidel who ended up 9th and 11th.  Curtis, Goble, and Scheidel all raced faster than they did 2 weeks ago.  This resulted in a low score of 25 points for the Lady Eagles, and the second place Hornets had 30.  

In the varsity boys race, Brandon McCullough in 6th, Liam Imhoff in 8th, and newcomer Sam Kik in 9th, were the only Eagles to break into the top 10.  Then the Eagles had a clump of red with Emmett Elsner, Jaxon Max, and Dakoda Worley in very solid 13th, 14th, and 15th places.  Brayden Bloom was the final varsity placer in 23rd while David Cox and Elijah Gee finished out the team in 29th and 30th.  The team was excited to finish second with 50 points, behind Central Montcalm’s 15, but easily edging Lakeview with 71 points.   >

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

 >

Both the cross country teams showed up at the Sparta Invitational and ran amazingly well.  The girls claimed the championship trophy while the boys earned the runner-up trophy in their Silver division.  

The Lady Eagles finished so strong that they upended the McBain Ramblers who had been seeded first prior to the race.  Elliana Max cruised to first place overall while Shelby Zimmer broke 21 minutes (a new personal record) to finish 3rd.  Joselyn Vogel and Bayla Curtis also ran new PRs to claim the 6th and 8th spots.  Brooke Scheidel dropped more than a minute for 13th place, edging out the fifth McBain girl.  Hayla Goble earned the sixth team medal with her PR in 18th.  

The boys team also ran so well that they too moved up to snatch the 2nd place trophy, narrowly defeating Saranac in 3rd.  Brandon McCullough and Liam Imhoff were the one-two Eagle punch in 6th and 8th places.  The remaining Kent City scorers ran PRs to help the team hold their spot.  Emmett Elsner broke 20 minutes for 17th place while Dakoda Worley and Jaxon Max took 20th and 21st.  Braydon Bloom and David Cox ran solidly in 28th and 37th.  

The Eagle will travel to Central Montcalm on Tuesday for the first of three CSAA White jamborees.  

Complete results can be found at:  https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/254004/info

​The Kent City Cross Country Teams appreciated all of the support as they were host to 7 other teams at the Early Eagle Invite at home.  Perfect weather and great course conditions led to some exciting races and personal performances.  

Your Lady Eagles came out of the gate well and finished strong.  This resulted in first place, edging Greenville by 7 points!  All six runners--Elli Max (2nd), Shelby Zimmer (3rd), Joselyn Vogel (4th), Bayla Curtis (7th), Hayla Goble (8th with a Personal Record), and Brooke Scheidel (12th)--earned medals!  

 >

The boys team fell to Greenville and Union but defeated Mason County Eastern by 7 points for 3rd place.  Brandon McCullough ran a giant season best time for 5th place, while Liam Imhoff completed the course in his fastest time in 9th.  They were the two lone medalists.  The strong trio of Dakoda Worley, Jaxon Max (big PR), and Emmett Elsner completed the team scoring in 20th, 21st, and 22nd places.  Brayden Bloom was 33rd, Eli Gee ran his best in 45th, and David Cox finished 56th.  

 >

All results can be found here:  https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/254363/results/all

 >

The Kent City Cross Country teams spent some time volunteering after an early August morning practice.  They used their remaining energy to clear paths, blow off boardwalks, and trim brush at our local Howard Christensen Nature Center.  The center is run completely by volunteers so they appreciated the help.  The athletes were glad to help considering we conduct many practices there.  The teams appreciate the soft, shady trails along with the open rest rooms.  Come and enjoy some beautiful fall weather and scenery at nearby HCNC, just off of Red Pine Drive.  

The Kent City Cross Country Team got its first meet jitters out at the Grand Rapids Union Redhawk Invite.  And the Eagles looked poised except when going up and down the steep hills!  The meet was a tough, exciting kick-off to the 2025 season.  

The six girls wearing Kent City across their jerseys were the first six to the finish line, scoring a perfect score of 15 points over Union, Wyoming, and Wyoming Lee.  Elliana Max set the course record with Shelby Zimmer in 2nd.  Bayla Curtis, Joselyn Vogel, Hayla Goble, and Brooke Scheidel were the other varsity scorers, completing the hilly 5K faster than all of the other girls.  

The boys race was more competitive, but Liam Imhoff and Brandon McCullough led the team in 2nd and 3rd.  The freshmen duo of Emmett Elsner and Dakoda Worley finished 9th and 10th.  In his debut, Jaxon Max finished as the 5th man in 16th place.  Brayden Bloom was 20th, Elijah Gee was 27th, and David Cox completed his first 5K in 29th.  Union scored 27 points while our Eagles ended with 40, defeating both Wyoming and Wyoming Lee.  

The Eagles will head to South Christian for the Under the Lights Invitational on Friday night.  The boys race at 8:30, and the girls will take off at 9:35 pm.