Chippewas On The Run To Regional

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan Cross Country teams will travel to Terre Haute, Ind. on Friday to run in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, hosted by Indiana State.

The men's team will compete in its first 10k race of the season, while the women's race, which begins at 11:15 a.m., is a 6K. The men's race carries a 12:15 p.m. start time.

Last year, the CMU women's team finished 18^th in the 31-team field. Megan O'Neil led the Chippewas with a 48^th-place finish in the 223-runner field. She finished in 21:31.

The Chippewa men last year placed 16^th in a 26-team field. Luke Anderson led the Chippewas with a 59^th-place finish (32:16) in a 187-runner field.

MOVING ON
The top two teams qualify for the Nov. 17 NCAA Championships in Madison, Wis. There will also be at-large team and individual bids to the NCAA Championships on the line at the regional.

LAST RACE?
For the CMU women's team, Saturday's event could be the last cross country race for four seniors: O'Neil, Kristen Olling, Samantha Allmacher and Erin Zdrojewski.

CMU women's coach Jenny Swieton said she wants her seniors to give everything they have with this potentially being the final cross country competition of their collegiate careers.

"I think that's all you can ask for is to go out there and leave everything on the course because it's their last chance to race," she said. "Cross country is very team oriented, so the better you do, the better the team does, and I think the team wants to go out there and do it for one another. The younger want want to race for the upperclassmen and to work together and give it everything they have."

A FIRST FOR THE MEN
Throughout the season, the CMU men's team has run in 5K races and in 8K races, making Saturday's regional their first 10K of the season.

Three of CMU's six runners who are scheduled to compete on Saturday have never run a 10k. Still, men's coach Matt Kaczor said he feels the distance is a strength for his troops.

"The 10K is the race we've been training for all year long," he said. "However with three of the six runners running the 10K for the first time, you just don't know. It's not like you're playing soccer, or something like that, and you've been doing it your whole time. This is a new race and some of our runners have never run it before."

SWEITON
"The team is excited to race and they've looked really good. I feel like for the last three weeks of the season I always have to hold them back a little bit, which is a good sign."

KACZOR
"With this young crew, we're just trying to make sure we have the best foot forward at the end of the season. For me, that's how I want to put the stamp on the season is by having a great race for the last race of the season."

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
Michigan is eyeing its third consecutive women's regional title, while Michigan State is the defending men's champion.

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Players Mentioned

Luke Anderson