PREVIEW: No. 17 Huskies travel to NCAA Division II Championships

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Ranked No. 17 in the nation, the Michigan Tech men's cross country team sets its sights on the NCAA Division II Championship finals 10K on Saturday, November 20. The race begins at 9:45 a.m. Eastern and will take place at the Abbey Course, hosted by Saint Leo in Florida. The Huskies finished fourth at the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Championships and second at the GLIAC Championships.

Tech gained an at-large bid from the NCAA National committee to make their second appearance at the National Championships in program history.

Colorado School of Mines (RMAC - 2019 National Champions) and Grand Valley State (GLIAC) are favorites to win this weekend with Adams State (RMAC), Augustana (NSIC), and Wingate (SAC) rounding out the top five. The Huskies did not compete last fall but qualified for the National Championships in 2019, finishing 13th at Haggins Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento, California. Two runners from that squad will be in Florida on Saturday, including junior Clayton Sayen (Houghton, Michigan) and senior Robbie Watling (New London, Wisconsin). 

Sayen has been outstanding this season. For the second straight year, he placed high enough to be named USTFCCCA All-Region and All-GLIAC First Team. Sayen took 44th place at the 2019 NCAA Championships with a time of 30:56.4 and 13th at the 2019 NCAA Midwest Region Championships. This year, Sayen set an even faster pace. He outran over 350 competitors to take first place at the Roy Griak Invitational on September 24, where he clocked an 8K time of 25:17.7 at Les Bolstad Golf Course.

He again cracked the top-5 at the GLIAC Championships and crossed the line fourth with a time of 25:04.1 (5:02 pace). Two weeks later, Sayen took 11th place at the NCAA Midwest Region Championships. 

Michigan Tech has also been bolstered by young talent this fall. Freshman Drew Kolodge (Clay, Michigan) placed 27th at the NCAA Midwest Region Championships. Fellow freshmen Nick Niemi (Ironwood, Mich.) was 31st and Sam Lange came in 37th. Senior Luke Moore (Washington, Illinois) will also figure in Saturday after taking 33rd at the Midwest Region Championships and 21st at the GLIAC Championships. 

The Abbey Course features rolling hills meandering around a golf course, but the degree of course rigor falls short of most cross country jaunts in the Copper Country. Alligator obstacles are not expected. Both men's and women's races will be live streamed on NCAA.com.