Posted: Oct 25, 2019

PREVIEW: Tech Cross Country Ready for 2019 GLIAC Championships

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Championship season has officially begun for the Michigan Tech cross country team, as the Huskies head to Westville, Indiana to compete in the 2019 GLIAC Championships. The women will run first in the 6K at 11 a.m. CST, followed by the men in the 8K race at 11:45 a.m. CST.

Tech last raced at the U.P. Championships in Marquette, Michigan, where a number of runners set personal bests. However, the last time Michigan Tech ran a full squad in both men's and women's races was at the Roy Griak Invitational, where the men finished second and the women placed fifth.

Michigan Tech enters the men's and women's races ranked among the best in the region and the country in the most recent USTFCCCA Division II Regional and National polls. The polls have the Michigan Tech men ranked third in the Midwest Region and 10th in the country, while the MTU women rank sixth regionally and 21st nationally.

Senior Matt Pahl and junior Braden Reichl have been the top runners all year for the Huskies, followed by sophomore Clayton Sayen, junior Nate Carey, and senior Brendan Klynstra. The men will look to bring the momentum from strong performances at the MSU Spartan Invitational and the Roy Griak Invitational into Saturday's race.

"Starting off the year with the way that we did at the Spartan Invitational gave us some motivation going into the rest of the season," said Reichl, who earned All-GLIAC First Team honors in the 2018 race. "As a team, I think we're in a really good spot going into the GLIAC Championships. We're all feeling good and we're all ready to race."

For the MTU women, senior Emily Byrd has consistently ran as the top Husky in every race she's competed in. Sophomore Sam Kurkowski has also been a strong runner this season, as have junior Carly Huggins, sophomore Gabrielle Feber, and senior Sarah Goble. Although they performed below their own expectations in the season-opening MSU Spartan Invitational, the women's team has improved in every race this season and looks to continue that into Saturday's 6K race.

"We've definitely been growing a lot as a team over the course of the year, it's something that we can see from each of our competitions," said Huggins, one of three captains of this year's women's team. "It shows that we've been learning a lot and improving, and it's important for us that we keep moving forward."

"The women have had quite a progression throughout the season, and we're trending in the right direction at the right time," said head coach Jake Isaacson. "On the men's side, we haven't been shy about what we've been trying to do this year. They're healthy, they're excited to run, and they're as motivated as heck."

Following the race in Westville, Michigan Tech will head back to Indiana to compete at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championship in Evansville on November 9. The top three teams to finish in each race will qualify for the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championships in Sacramento, Calif.