Chippewas Head to Great Lakes Regional in Wisconsin
11/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Danielle Ross, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan men's and women's cross country teams will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships Friday when they partake in the Great Lakes Regional, hosted by Wisconsin on the Zimmer Cross Country Course.
The women's race begins at 1 p.m., the men's at 2 p.m. The Chippewas will compete along with 29 other teams. The top two, plus those teams earning enough at-large points, advance to the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 22, at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind.
CMU associate coach Matt Kaczor said he has the same expectations and goals he has had all season long, and that involves closing the gap on the women's side between top runners Abbey Kelto and Breanne Lesnar and the others.
"Our goal is to try to finish better than what we're ranked," Kaczor said.
Jamie Madrigal, Esther Bell, Michaela Bundy, Alyssa Byndas, Hannah Davis, Melinda Palinkas and Katie Weiler will join Kelto and Lesnar in rounding out the Chippewa lineup on Friday.
Kelto and Palinkas are the lone seniors.
On the men's side, juniors Nate Ghena and Silas Dekalita lead the CMU men, who also feature seniors Ben Wynsma and Tanner Pesonen, junior Monte Scott, sophomore Spencer Nousain, and freshmen Joseph Emmanuel and Alec Toreki.
CMU senior Ethan Lievense has finished his season as he will rest to be prepared for his indoor season coming up.
Kaczor said Kelto on the women's side and Ghena on the men's harbor CMU's best chances of legitimate all-region honors.
"She's looking great, I'm excited for her," Kaczor said of Kelto. "Ghena's looking really good too. We can hopefully see some pretty good individual performances from these two."
Players Mentioned
