Strong Fields Await Chippewa Runners At Pre-Nationals

Saturday, October 13

Madison, WI

Central Michigan University

Pre-Nationals Invite

Photo by: Mary Lewandowski

10/12/2018 5:38:00 PM | MTF, Track & Field

Several ranked teams on hand in Madison, Wis.

By: Nick Vuylsteke

Nick Vuylsteke, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan cross country team will travel to Madison, Wis. on Saturday to run in the Pre-Nationals invite.

The women's team will run first in the seeded White Race at 10:45 a.m. The men's team will run second in the seeded Cardinal Race at 11:30 a.m. The women's race comprises 6K, while the men's race is an 8K.

Both CMU teams go into Saturday's races ranked regionally. The Chippewa men are 12^th in the Great Lakes Region, while the CMU women are 15^th.

It is the first time the Chippewa women are ranked regionally under second-year coach Jenny Swieton.

THE FIELD
The CMU men's team is scheduled to run against a number of nationally ranked teams, led by No. 1 Northern Arizona. Also in the field are No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 5 Stanford, No. 9 Colorado State, No. 11 Colorado, No. 13 Oregon, No. 15 Southern Utah, No. 20 Michigan, No. 22 Ole Miss, and No. and 26 North Carolina State.

The race also includes Great Lakes Region-ranked Dayton, which is eighth; and No. 10 Youngstown State.

The CMU women's team will compete with nine nationally ranked schools, led by No. 2 New Mexico along with fellow top-10 members Stanford (sixth) and Wisconsin (eight). Also in the field is No. 11 Michigan, No. 13 Furman, No. 18 Georgia, No. 19 Washington, No. 24 Utah State, and No. 25 Notre Dame.

Eastern Michigan and Purdue are also in the field. The Eagles are ranked seventh and Purdue is ninth in the Great Lakes Region.

They race will include 13 of the 25 ranked female runners, including No. 1 Sharon Lokedi of Kansas.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
Both Chippewa teams have been relying on their youth to help carry the load, while giving their veterans time to rest and prepare for Oct. 27 MAC Championships and then the Nov. 13 NCAA Regional.

"We have some veterans, but for the most part we're a pretty young team, so you just never know what's going to happen," Chippewa women's coach Jenny Swieton said. "When you have a good number of newbies I think this shows that they're kind of adapting well to college cross country."

CMU men's coach Matt Kaczor has rested many of his veterans, including Logan Kleam, Luke Anderson, and Conor Naughton throughout the season, creating opportunities some of the younger runners, such as Chandler Lorf.

"Chandler Lorf has been a huge surprise," Kaczor said. "I can't speak to how impressed I am with him. You just don't expect to see what he's doing out of a freshman. Nine times out of 10 I don't want to have to deal with freshman in my top five and I have two freshmen in my top five."

EXPECTATIONS
Both Kaczor and Swieton said that the final analysis of Saturday's event will not necessarily be a number – where their respective squads finish relative to the field – but rather in times and how their athletes approach the event and, ultimately, perform.

"I think we're in a good place, but I mean we're racing against a lot of the best teams in the country," said Kaczor, who captained the 2004 CMU cross country squad that won the Mid-American Conference championship. "We could get our butts handed to us this weekend and we could still have a great performance. If we finish top 25, you're looking at a really good performance."

"This is pre-nats of like old times, like when I was in school. This is what I remember as pre-nats where the majority of the best teams in the country are showing up and you're duking it out."

Said Swieton: "Our race for teams isn't as heavily stacked but for individuals, it's crazy stacked, which generally means it'll go out fast. Some of (our) runners, they're going to need to continue the same approach and start out more conservatively and work their way up. Sometimes I say, 'Go out fast, or die trying.'

"I don't know if we're quite there yet, but definitely give yourself a chance. You got to give yourself a chance in a race like this."

NEXT
The MAC Championships are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 27 at Toledo.