Emily Byrd Cracks Top 20 at Lewis Conference Crossover

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - The Michigan Tech cross country teams traveled to Romeoville, Ill. to compete in the Lewis Conference Crossover, Saturday, Oct. 7. Emily Byrd led the Huskies' team, placing 18th overall in a field of 359 female racers.

The women's team had a competitive 5K race today, finishing 14th overall out of 34 teams at the crossover. Emily Byrd had the best time, cracking the line at 22:19.6 for 18th place. Senior, Emily Vigil and junior, Liz Bloch both had nice finishes, contributing to the women's team score. Vigil placed 55th at 22:59.0 alongside teammate Bloch with the same race time of 22:59.0 for 56th place.

"We had to change our race plan with the windy conditions today, but our women responded in a fantastic way," said Tech head coach Jake Isaacson. "Emily Byrd continued to show she's a top-tier runner, and Emily Vigil had a big breakthrough which was huge for our team score. We finished 14th at this unbelievably competitive meet and we are trending in the right direction into Championship Season."

Junior, Matt Pahl had the best time for the Huskies. Out of 361 runners, Pahl finished in 51st place, crossing the finish line at 25:52.0. Grant Brown clocked in at 26:34.1 sliding in the top 100 for 99th place. Followed by sophomore, Chase Scheel (143, 26:59.9) and freshman, Braden Reichl (144, 27:00.1). The men took 18th place out of the 31 teams who attended.

"Our men had another humbling learning experience today," Isaacson added. "We did have some good performances from Chase Scheel,  and freshmen, Zach Werth and Braden Reichl. Hopefully we can get the whole group progressing over the next two weeks as we prep for the GLIAC championships."

The Huskies travel to Oshkosh, Wis. to compete Saturday, Oct. 7 in the Kollege Town Sports Invitational. The GLIAC Championships are to be held the following weekend, Oct. 21 in Marquette, Mich.