Central Michigan University
Pre-National Invitational
CMU Women Shine at Pre-Nationals
10/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Women's Results | Men's Results
Nate Perry, CMUChippewas.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The stakes got higher, and the Central Michigan women's cross country team rose to the challenge.
Out of 175 runners, four Chippewa women were in the top 52 across the line Saturday at the Pre-National at Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Cross Country Championship Course.
Kelly Schubert, the Chippewas' consistent No. 1 runner, finished 15th with a 6K time of 21 minutes, 39.5 seconds, leading CMU to an eighth-place finish.
Kirsten Olling was next, coming in 36th place, and hitting the finish line at 22:05.3. Her running mate for the entire race, teammate Megan O'Neil, was immediately behind her at 22:08.3.
"I think we got a result today that shows how good we can be," CMU coach Matt Kaczor said. "I thought we put it all together today, and I'm hoping this is the confidence boost we've been looking for. It's never been a question of talent."
The most pleasant surprise for Kaczor was the performance of Hannah Davis, who finished 52nd in 22:22.7.
In doing so, she posted a great fourth score for the team, filling a key role that Kaczor has emphasized all season.
"I thought she had the breakout performance of anybody in the whole race," Kaczor said. "She ran to her strengths -- so did the whole team -- and she was pushing (O'Neil) all day. That was huge for us and for her confidence."
This performance comes at the perfect time for the Chippewa women as the races only get bigger from here on out and they appear to be peaking at the right time.
Annemarie Schwanz of Fresno State was first in 20:48.5. Ohio State won the team portion of the race with 114 points.
For the CMU men, Spencer Nousain was the top finisher, coming in 40th with a time of 25:50.7
CMU's Joseph Emmanuel came in right behind Nousain, his running partner for most of the season, finishing 43rd in 25.54.5.
Bransen Stimpfel, the only true freshman runner for the CMU men, continued to show promise finishing 77th in 26:27.5 and coming.
"Again, we're learning on the men's side," Kaczor said. "When you're young like we are, all you can is get experience for them and get them into the feel of it, and they're making progress. Then, just hope that your veterans continue to do what they do and show the young guys the way."
Emmanuel Rotich of Tulane won the men's race with a time of 24:36.5.
The Mid-American Conference was represented well in the race with Ohio University and Miami-Ohio finishing first and second, respectively.
Players Mentioned
