KENOSHA, Wis. — The Michigan Tech cross country squads impressed at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regionals meet, on the Wayne. E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course on Saturday morning. The No. 18 men of Michigan Tech placed fourth overall behind three All-Region performances, while the women placed eighth as a team.
“Our men’s team goal was a top-3 finish and we were so close to hitting it, just three points off.” head coach Kristina Owen said. “It really goes to show how every place for every runner matters.
“We’re in a really good position for an at-large spot, but now we need to wait until Monday for the confirmation.”
“I was quite pleased with how the men raced,” assistant head coach Robert Young said. We knew it was going to be tight between us Walsh and Saginaw Valley State and it’s a bummer that we were the higher number but we’re anticipating we’ll get to run again in two weeks.”
The men started the brisk morning with a fourth-place finish scoring 121 points. No. 3 ranked Grand Valley State won the team race with 58 points, Saginaw Valley earned a runner-up finish having a point total of 113. Just ahead of the Huskies in third was Walsh with 118 points.
The results from the men were highlighted by three All-Region Huskies. Drew Kolodge led the Huskies with an eighth-place finish (31:01.05). Clayton Sayen (31:26.97) and Sam Lange (31:35.10) also earned All-Region placing 11th and 15th, respectively.
Sophomore Tucker Ringhand placed 34th overall in his first regional meet, running through the chute in 32:10.
Nick McKenzie, the Huskies’ fifth runner, improved 30 spots from last year’s meet, placing 53rd on the day, running 32:29.07.
Stephen Laparo (32:47.28) and Kyle Samluk (33:10.71) were the sixth and seventh runners for Tech, placing 65th and 84th, respectively.
“Our women have come so far this season and we’re incredibly proud of the team they performed,” Owen added. “They gave it everything they had out there and we can’t ask for anything better than their best.”
“They ran so well,” Young added. “It’s hard to feel disappointed when they ran so well, it stings a little bit because they had big goals and it seems unlikely that they’ll make the national championships with that performance, but when you run your best and you get beat you tip your cap to who beat you and you come back better next year.”
The women placed eighth overall, scoring 214 points, improving five spots from last season’s 13th-place finish. The No. 2 ranked Grand Valley State Lakers won with a point total of 31.
The senior duo of Michelle Bollini and Sam Kurkowski saved their best Regional performance for last, placing 27th and 35th, respectively.
Bollini crossed the finish line in 22:23.25 to be the first Huskies, with Kurkowski running 22:38.5.
Hannah Loughlin and Jesse Jacobusse had an impressive day in their first regional meet. The two ran third and fourth, respectively for the Huskies.
Loughlin ran a personal-best to be close behind Kurkowski in 41st place in the Yooper-like conditions. Jacobusse placed 54th (23:00.3), with Elsa Huckels close behind in 57th place (23:02.5).
The Huskies spread from the first runner to the fifth was a remarkable 40 seconds.
Sophomore Anabel Needham improved from last year’s meet, placing 71st (23:16.4). Freshman and Houghton native Ingrid Seagren placed 99th in her first regional championships, running 23:40.7.
The men of Michigan Tech Teams and individual runners who did not qualify automatically will now wait for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship committee to make its at-large selections. The full field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 21 on NCAA.com.
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