PREVIEW: Tech Cross Country Primed for National Championships
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The 2019 cross country season is nearing its conclusion as the Michigan Tech Huskies cross country team will be running at the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championships on Saturday (Nov. 23) from the Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento, California.
At the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championships in Evansville, Indiana, the men's and women's teams both scored second place finishes to automatically qualify them for the National Championships. The men placed second with 116 points and had four runners inside the top 35, while the women placed five runners inside the top 40 en route to scoring 146 points in a second-place finish.
This marks the first time in Michigan Tech history that both teams have qualified for the same National Championship race. This will also be the first trip to the National Championships for the men's team, while the women will be making their second straight appearance in the final race of the season.
For the men, seniors Matt Pahl and Brendan Klynstra, juniors Braden Reichl, Nate Carey, Bobby Beggs and Robbie Watling, and sophomore Clayton Sayen will be running for the Huskies in the 10K race. Reichl, Sayen, and Pahl all earned All-Region and All-GLIAC First Team honors for the Huskies, while Klynstra scored an All-GLIAC Second Team finish. And while they didn't achieve All-Region or All-GLIAC honors, Carey, Beggs, Watling, and Scheel were all instrumental in the Huskies qualifying for the National Championships.
Running for Michigan Tech in the women's 6K race will be seniors Emily Byrd and Sarah Goble, juniors Carly Huggins and Amanda Kautzer, sophomores Gabrielle Feber and Sam Kurkowski, and freshman Mady VanWieren. Byrd scored All-Region and All-GLIAC First Team honors, and Feber earned All-GLIAC Second Team plaudits. Goble, Estkowski, Huggins, Kautzer, Kurkowski, and VenWieren all played vital parts in the Huskies qualifying for the final race of the season.
The women will run in the 6K race at 1 p.m. Eastern, and the men's 10K will follow at 2:15 p.m. Eastern.