Huskies Run Well at GLIAC Championships
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men's and women's cross country teams both had strong showings at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday. Each team finished in sixth place out of the 14 team field for the men and a 15 team field for the women. The meet was hosted by Ferris State University at the Katke Golf Course on the Ferris State campus.
"It was a great race for both teams today and for the women it was an outstanding result for them with the youth that they have on the team," Michigan Tech Head Coach Joe Haggenmiller said. "On the men's side, I think that result is very legit as well. We were really competitive for fourth place on the men's side and were just a little off the pace of finishing a couple of spots higher. Both the men and women from top to bottom ran outstanding. We had two All-Conference performers in Sophia Farquhar and Matt Pahl which was exciting. Jason Saliga and Emily Byrd were also very close to making the All-Conference team."
Sophia Farquhar headlined the meet for the women by crossing the line with a time of 22:35.0 on her way to GLIAC All-Conference accolades due to a 16th place overall finish in the field of 123 runners. Emily Byrd ended the meet in 25th by covering the 6k course in a time of 23:01.5 followed by Emily Vigil who was 41st overall, hitting the line in 23:49.1.
Sonja Hedblom landed in 42nd with a time of 23:51.6 and Robyn Holmes rounded out the top five for the Huskies in 51st overall, recording a time of 24:08.8. Michigan Tech's top five runners logged a combined time of 1:57:26.2 and had a score of 164 to finish in sixth place. Amanda Kautzer (69th, 24:50.2), Carly Huggins (73rd, 25:58.7), and Julia Manzano (76th, 25:06.2) also competed for the Huskies on Saturday.
Grand Valley State University won the team championship on the women's side with a combined time of 1:49:51.5. Northern Michigan (1:52:17.4) was second and Hillsdale (1:52:42.0) checked in at number three. Grand Valley State also had the individual champion on Saturday with Kendra Foley outlasting the field thanks to a time of 21:08.9.
The men's team was powered by Matt Pahl, who also garnered GLIAC All-Conference honors by covering the 8k course in 25:43.7 to finish 17th over all in the field of 117 runners. Jason Saliga also had a solid day with the second best team time for Tech on the afternoon, placing 23rd overall with a time of 25:48.7. Kyle Hanson followed Saliga in 30th place after crossing the line in 26:16.7. Daniel Kulas (43rd 26:38.5) and Brendan Klynstra (57th 27:11.5) rounded out the top five for Michigan Tech.
The five runners combined for an overall time of 2:11:39.3 and a score of 157 to finish in the number six spot. Chad Pollock (78th 27:41.7), Nate Carey (81st 27:45.5), Grant Brown (84th, 27:51.3) and Marcus Shamberg (93rd 28:21.5) also competed for Huskies on Saturday.
Grand Valley State also claimed the team title on the men's side with their top five runners combining to produce a time of 2:05:14.1. Saginaw Valley State (2:08:04.1) was second and Hillsdale (2:09:33.5) took home third place. James Ngandu of Tiffin was the individual champion with a time of 24:14.5.
"The was a very elite field and from top to bottom I think the GLIAC could be the best NCAA Division II conference in the country," Haggenmiller added. "Coach Isaacson and I are very proud of how the teams performed. Finishing sixth in this field is a great result and takes a lot of hard work to get there. It's fun to be out here and competing with some of the top teams in the nation and to come in with a good result on top of that is exciting. We want to think Ferris State for hosting the meet along with the GLIAC for putting on a great event."
The Tech men and women will both compete at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championships in Evansville, Indiana on Saturday November 5th.