Central Michigan University Athletics
McClure and Rudert Finish Top 10 at Drenth Memorial
8/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Results
MOUNT PLEASANT Juniors Kelly McClure and Amanda Rudert placed in the top 10 as the Central Michigan University women’s cross country team opened its season at the 22nd annual Jeff Drenth Memorial 5k at University Park this afternoon. CMU, Ferris State and Michigan State were the three schools that competed at the meet.
McClure placed fifth in a personal best time of 18:15, while Rudert came in ninth with a career best time of 18:39. Redshirt freshman Missy Darling just missed the top 10, finishing 11th in a personal best time of 18:56.
“To have all three of those ladies run under 19 minutes was great for us,” CMU head coach Karen Lutzke said. “Kelly really turned the corner with her performance during the outdoor track season, and she continued that into this race today. Amanda is a tough competitor who ran well today, and Missy’s performance today should give her a lot of confidence that she can run at the front of the field and she’s just going to get better.”
Several freshmen made their collegiate debut at the non-scored meet, and two of them, Kylee Kubacki and Danielle Dakroub, ran in the top 20. Kubacki placed 14th with a time of 19:06, while Dakroub was 17th in 19:18.
“We recruited all of our freshmen to come in and compete right away, and certainly Kylee and Danielle stepped it up today,” Lutzke said. “They are going to make us better as a team because they will challenge our veterans to continue to improve or risk losing a spot in the lineup.”
Rounding out the top seven for CMU in its opening meet of the season were Michelle Diverio (19th, 19:26) and Jackie Rivard (21st, 19:31).
“I’m pleased with how we competed and how we raced today,” Lutzke said. “The conditions were tough today, but we had several personal best times and we were able to have some people run at the front with Michigan State’s runners. It’s a good first step for us this season.”
MSU’s Alissa McKaig won the event for the second year in a row, running a time of 17:37. Nicole Bush (17:50), Lisa Senakiewich (17:56) and Sarah Price followed their teammate McKaig for a Spartan sweep of the top four places in the meet.
CMU will get back in action at the Spartan Invitational in two weeks, on Friday, Sept. 14, in East Lansing. The women’s race is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
