Heartland cross country opened its regular season play Friday at the Southwest Michigan Relays in Dowagiac, Mich. The Hawks took first-place finishes on both the men's and women's side, with Brock Loftus and Colin Delagrange placing first with a time of 47:38 in the men's nine-mile relay while Nora Brady and Sophia Nordhielm finished first with a time of 40:30 in the women's six-mile race.
 
"Both our men's and women's teams had a great showing on a tough course," Heartland head coach Ty Wolf said. "Our women looked strong and exhibited tremendous discipline. I am really proud of the way they competed and worked together as a pack. Our men went out a little fast at the start, but our depth really showed as we placed five out of the top six teams."
 
Below are the results from Friday's Southwest Michigan Relays:
 
Men's results- 9-miles total (each runner ran 3 x 1.5 miles)
1^st place- Heartland, Brock Loftus & Collin Delagrange, 47:38
2^nd place- Southwest Michigan College, Isaiah Beiter and Ethan Glick, 47:45
3^rd Place- Heartland, Matt Padilla & Colton Knowles, 47:53
4^th Place- Heartland, Luke Getz & Eli Mojonnier, 48:48
5^th Place- Heartland, Sam Bushert & Sky Riddle, 49:05
6^th Place- Heartland, Ben Huey & Elijah House, 49:12
7^th Place- Southwest Michigan College
8^th Place- Southwest Michigan College
9^th Place- Heartland, Erik Garcia & Noel Velasquez
 
Women's Results- 6-miles total (each runner ran 2 x 1.5 miles)
1^st Place- Heartland, Nora Brady & Sophia Nordhielm, 40:30
2^nd Place- Heartland, Addy Clark & Emma Good, 40:48
3^rd Place- Heartland, Kalei McDaniel & Ashleigh Horton, 41:00
4^th Place- Southwest Michigan College, 43:22
5^th Place- Heartland, Ava Starkey & Emily Pounder, 45:00
6^th Place- Heartland, Emma Cox & Maddie Bales, 45:03
 
The Hawks return to action beginning at 5 pm Friday at Normal's Maxwell Park, as they play host to the Heartland Relays.