GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) is celebrating the successes of its cross-country teams, who are now ranked among the best teams in the nation.
The women’s team ranked sixth in the U.S. while the men ranked 13th, according to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Sharon Becker, who coaches the women’s team, says all of her teammates improved their run times across their first pair of competitions this year.
“When running a race with many 29 teams and 200 runners, it is easy to forget our original race goals, what we can control and how well we ran the race or finished the race,” says Becker. “Even though our brains like to trick us and compare, compare, compare, we start looking at how green the grass looks on the other side. Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘Comparison is the thief of joy.’ If we stop comparing and look at the facts, our team has many reasons to be joyful.”
Both teams closed last season at number seven in the country.
They are scheduled to compete at the Kirtland Fireboard Invitational in Grayling this Friday.
READ MORE: 4 GRCC cross-country runners achieve All-American awards
