Chippewa Women Head to Minnesota
9/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Nate Perry, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — The Central Michigan women's cross country team will run Saturday at the 31st annual Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational, a race that will feature top-tier talent from all over the Big Ten Conference along with several other big-time programs from around the country.
It will be the first opportunity for the Chippewa women to run on the national scale and with that, comes a major step up in the level of competition.
"You've got a lot of teams that aren't messing around, and that's why we go there," CMU coach Matt Kaczor said. "I want my athletes to see what it's like and to strive to be a part of that."
After resting many of his upper-echelon runners at last weekend's Michigan State Spartan Invitational, Kaczor will utilize his full arsenal on Saturday.
Kirsten Olling, the Chippewas' top returnee, will compete in her first race of the season. Olling, a junior, is coming back from an injury she suffered during the track & field season. She was a First Team All-Mid-American Conference runner last fall.
"Coming off that track injury, she was obviously a little behind," Kaczor said. "But now she's really starting to look a lot better and she's really rounding into form. My hope is that she can finish in our top three."
The race will be contested at the Les Bolstad Golf Course and is slated for a start time of 2:20 p.m.
The CMU men will not compete in the event.
Players Mentioned
