Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Head To Michigan State On Friday
9/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Nate Perry, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - After a week off, the Central Michigan cross country teams will make a short trip down US-127 on Friday where they will take part in the Spartan Invitational in East Lansing.
The races will be run at Forest Akers East, one of the on-campus golf courses at MSU. The 8K men's race will start at 11:50 a.m., with the 6K women's race to follow.
This will be CMU's second meeting with the Spartans this year, and according to CMU coach Matt Kaczor, it's another opportunity to gain valuable experience against a national power.
"It's a great tool for us because they're close, and it just kind of gives us a measuring stick to get us going back toward where we want to be again," he said.
The Chippewas will rest many of their top runners on the women's side in an effort to stay healthy for next week's Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota.
Kelly Schubert, Samantha Allmacher, Megan O'Neil and Hannah Davis are all top performers who will sit out Friday's race, along with Kirsten Olling who continues to battle back from injury.
"On the women's side, we're trying to see where we're at on the depth end," said Kaczor. "The focus is on what we need to do to get these other women going to bridge gaps, get them closer, and keep improving."
Kaczor said all of his healthy runners on the men's side will compete this week as they will not race again until Sept. 30 at the Notre Dame Invitational.
Spencer Nousain, a fifth-year senior, is fresh off a personal best 15-minute, 34-second 5K at the CMU-hosted Drenth Memorial two weeks ago, and continues to develop as a team leader, Kaczor said.
"That 5K PR (personal record) was a huge step for him and we're seeing it in workouts now," Kaczor said. "He's not a huge talker in practice, but the guys know to follow him by example."
Players Mentioned
