Akron // Tommy Evans Invitationial
Led by first-place performances from senior Mackenzie Andrews (Toowoomba, Australia) and junior Andre Bollam-Godbott (Brunswick, Ohio), the University of Akron women's and men's cross country squads captured the team titles at the 51st annual Tommy Evans Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton, Ohio.
After capturing the men's individual title as a freshman in 2017, Bollam-Godbott earned top honors for a second time as a Zip taking down Ohio's Josh Park, the defending Mid-American Conference Cross Country champion, crossing the line in 19:15.4.
Andrews finished first in the women's 5K race in a time of 17:11.2, a more than 50-second victory, to lead Akron to the women's title with 45 points. The Zips were followed in the team standings by Ohio (63), Walsh (70), Youngstown State (95), Malone (117), Baldwin Wallce (119), Cleveland State (180), Cuyahoga Community College (274), Robert Morris (280) and Ohio Dominican (303).
Directed by a first-, fourth-, sixth-, 10th- and 12th-place finishes from Bollam-Godbott, seniors Nick Stricklen (Lexington, Ohio) and Jeremiah Fitzgerald (Mantua, Ohio), freshman Chase Easterling (Mt. Orab, Ohio) and redshirt junior Jacob Ondash (Hiram, Ohio), the Zips captured the men's team title with 33 points. Akron was followed in the team standings by Walsh (48), Ohio (80), Youngstown State (89), Malone (108), Baldwin Wallace (177) and Ohio Dominican (207).
The Zips' women's scoring contingent included Andrews, who was followed across the line by senior Haley Hess (Curtice, Ohio), freshman Olivia Anaple (Blue Ash, Ohio), junior Lindsey Scarton (Berea, Ohio) and senior Hannah Long (Pacific, Mo.), as the quartet garnered third-, seventh-, 12th- and 22nd-place performances.
Hess was next across the line for the Zips finishing third in the women's race with a time of 18:07.4.
Rounding out the women's scoring field for Akron was Anaple, Scarton and Long, as the trio posted times of 18:18.7 (7th), 18:36.2 (12th) and 19:12.7 (22nd), respectively.
Also competing for the Zips among returners was freshman Makenna Heimlich (Shelby, Ohio) and junior Leah Recker (Findlay, Ohio), as the duo crossed the line in 19:29.4 and 19:33.8.
Stricklen followed Bollam-Godbott across the finish line for Akron men placing fourth with a time of 19:38.1.
Fitzgerald, Easterling and Ondash rounded out the scorers for the Zips' men's squad recording times of 19:44.7, 20:03.4 and 20:18.1 to finish sixth, 10th and 12th, respectively.
Akron also garnered a 20:22.0 (13th) performance from freshman Aidan Harr (New Philadelphia, Ohio).
Ball State // IWU Twilight Classic
Ball State cross country's freshman class continued to lead the way Friday at the IWU Twilight Classic, as Vivian Van Eck placed fifth overall to help guide the Cardinals to a third-place team finish on a fast IWU Cross Country Course.
With just six runners in action at the second meet of the season, Ball State still manage to post impressive results with four Cardinals turning in career-best 5K times.
Crossing the line first for BSU was Van Eck with a career-fast time of 18:24.7. The effort was over 30 seconds faster than her 5K time at last Friday's Butler Twilight meet.
Sophomore Emma Cunningham was BSU's second-fastest runner on the day, clocking in with a career-fast mark of 18:53.4, nearly 15 seconds faster than her previous career best also set a week ago.
Rounding out Ball State's five scored runners were senior Hannah Cummings (15th / 19:01.8), freshman Grace Dean (19:29.1) and sophomore Maddie Aul (19:42.1).
Dean's time was also a career-fast effort, as was Meghan Hedrick's time of 19:56.1.
Bowling Green // NIU Huskie Challenge
Allison Holahan of the Bowling Green State University women's cross country team competed in the NIU Huskie Challenge on Friday (Sept. 6) evening. The redshirt junior from Gahanna, Ohio finished 21st of 92 runners in the women's 6k event, with a time of 23:31.5. It was her first time competing in the NIU Huskie Challenge, and her second race of the 2019 season. Holahan placed second for BGSU last Friday (Aug. 30) in the Mel Brodt Invitational.
Coach Lou Snelling's Take
"We got a great look at the course today and very comfortable with what to expect from it on November 2nd." NIU will be hosting the MAC Championships on Nov. 2.
Central Michigan // NIU Huskie Challenge
The Central Michigan men placed first and the Chippewa women were third on Friday in the Northern Illinois Huskie Challenge at NIU's North 40 Cross Country Course.
The Chippewa men finished with 47 points, six better than runner-up Milwaukee. Northern Illinois won the women's race with 36 points, followed by Toledo (56) and the Chippewas (94). Nine teams comprised the field. The men ran an 8K, the women a 6K.
Men
The CMU men won behind strong performances from sophomore Zachary Sleeman and senior Mark Beckmann, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
"That's the first time he's ever been the top finisher for us," Swieton said of Sleeman, who finished in 26:22.8. "He looked really strong."
Beckmann, who Swieton referred to as "the king of consistency," continues to play a major leadership role. He finished in 26:28.0.
"Mark is like the most consistent person I've ever had on a team," she said. "We were looking at his whole career of 8K races and how he runs … You can always count on him, and that's awesome."
Also for the Chippewas, freshman Adam Rzentkowski placed ninth (26:32.7), while sophomores Riad Rababeh(26.45.2) and Chandler Lorf (26.47.6) placed 13th and 14th, respectively.
"On the men's side, they worked really well together as a pack," said Swieton. "They got in the work they needed to get in today."
Women
Freshman Emily Shelton led the way for the CMU women, finishing third in 22:22.3 and making quite the impression on her coach.
"It was her first 6K," Swieton said. "She finished ahead of some people that were All-MAC last year. I think that's a good sign this early in the season."
Joining Shelton in the top 20 was fellow freshman Maddy Boyd, who finished 12th at 23:01.9, along with sophomore Lauren Beckmann, who was 19th at 23:20.9.
Eight Chippewas finished in the top 50 in the 92-runner field.
"We had some PR's and that's always good," Swieton said. "Overall, it was a good day for them."
Getting a Look
Prior to the meet, Swieton stressed the importance of her runners getting a look at and a feel for the course, which will be the site of the MAC Championship in November.
"I already have some ideas about what we're going to emphasize a little more in training just based on how this course ran," she said. "This is a true cross country course, which is good. We'll just kind of utilize those types of resources in practice more to make sure they're ready for that type of course come MAC Championship time."
Eastern Miichigan Women // George Dales Invitational
The Eastern Michigan University women's cross country team opened the 2019 season, Sept. 6, at the George Dales Invitational hosted by Western Michigan University. The Eagles posted eight of the top-10 finishers at the 5k race.
Sweeping the podium spots, Karlie Swanson (New South Wales, Australia-Bellingen), Emily Smith (Somerset, England-Wells Cathedral School), and Natalie Cizmas (Clinton Twp., Mich.-Chippewa Valley) finished with times of 17:20.96, 17:27.94, and 17:29.90, respectively, to lead the Green and White.
Allie Knoll (Warren, Mich.-Warren Mott) took fifth place with a time of 18:16.59, while Kaitlyn St. Bernard (Newport, Mich.-Jefferson) and Esme Davies (Lake District, England-Queen Elizabeth Grammar School) finished in sixth and seventh with 18:39.21 and 18:40.66 marks, respectively.
Rounding out top-10 finishers for the Eagles, Madison Distelrath (Fort Wayne, Ind.-Homestead) placed eighth with a time of 18:43.94 and Lexi Seifert (Waterford, Pa.-Villa Maria Academy) took ninth, crossing the finish line in 18:49.73.
Kent State // NIU Huskie Challenge
The Kent State cross country teams were in action for the second straight week at the NIU Huskie Challenge. The Golden Flashes finished in fifth place in the women's 6K and third place in the men's 8K.
Clark Bookman led the way for Kent State in the men's race, finishing in second place (26:12.1) and earning his second top-five finish of the season. Alex Stamper grabbed his first top-10 finish of the year (26:42.5), while Drew Johnson finished in 12th place (26:45.2) and recorded his second top-15 finish of the season. Justin McKeal secured a career-high 18th-place finish (26:54.8).
Nicole Fleming paced the women, finishing in eighth place (22:51.8) and securing her second top-10 finish of the season. In addition to Fleming, three other Flashes finished in the top-30. Leah Lisle finished in 18th place (23:17.9), Rachel Banks finished in 23rd place (23:37.7) and Jaimie Adams finished in 26th place (23:44.2).
Northern Illinois // NIU Huskie Challenge
The Northern Illinois University cross country team won its second team title of the season on Friday, winning the NIU Huskie Challenge at the North 40 Course on campus.
"It's nice to come out here and run on our home course and learn the nuances at a more of a race effort," said head coach Adrian Myers. "To come here and run in front of our friends, family, NIU supporters, and the community is great for the program. The one thing we've been stressing is learning how to win. We've done that twice in a row now and obviously our ambition is to win the big one."
The Huskies had four of the top-six finishers in Friday's race, a preview of the Mid-American Championships on Nov. 2. Junior Ashley Tutt (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) won her second straight race of the season Friday afternoon. Tutt covered the six-kilometer course in a time of 21:51.2, 17 seconds ahead of Meg Swietlik of Milwaukee.
Ericka Hibser (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) took fourth place Friday in a time of 22:23.3. Mackenzie Callahan (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) was right behind her in fifth with a time of 22:31.5. Vivian Overbeck(Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) finished sixth in 22:34.1, staking the Huskies to a solid spot atop the team standings. Sophomore Hannah Ricci (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) rounded out NIU's scoring group, finishing 16th in a time of 23:06.1.
"We wanted to go to the front, control the pace, and be very comfortable," Myers said. "On the second lap we did what we needed to do to ice it up. Looking at the big picture for November, we were going to have to control our effort today to get the most out of it."
NIU took the team title with 32 points with Toledo second with 56 points. Central Michigan finished third with 94 points, one point ahead of Milwaukee with 95. Kent State rounded out the top-five with 101 points.
Ohio // Tommy Evans Invitational
Ohio men's and women's cross country finish a solid day of the Tommy Evans Invitational, finishing third and second respectively.
The Bobcat women were well represented in the top-20 in the 5K race. Senior Melissa Koziol (Burton, Ohio) finished in second-place with a time of 18:01.9, a personal best. Rounding out the top-five is Hailey Bowes (Arlington Heights, Ill.) with a time of 18:13.5. Also in the top-20 were junior Jessie Hartman (Lebanon, Ohio) and sophomore Payton Grigsby(Wadsworth, Ohio) with times of 18:55.6 and 19:06.4 respectively. The Ohio women finished second as a team, beating out Walsh, Youngstown State, Malone, Baldwin Wallace, Cleveland State, Cuyahoga CC, Robert Morris, and Ohio Dominican.
The men's team saw a familiar face at the top of their race, with junior Josh Park (Amherst, Ohio) finishing second with a time of 19:20.7 in the collegiate 3.88 mile race. Also in the top-20 were senior Eric McKean (Pataskala, Ohio) and junior Seth Gard (Eaton, Ohio) with times of 20:27.0 and 20:27.9. The Ohio men finished third as a team, beating out Youngstown State, Malone, Baldwin Wallace, and Ohio Dominican.
Toledo // NIU Huskie Challenge
The University of Toledo women's cross country team placed second with 56 points at the NIU Huskie Challenge on Friday evening, finishing behind the host Huskies´ total of 32 points.
"Overall it was a solid day for our women," said first-year head coach Andrea Grove-McDonough. "We do not want to be at our best at this time of year. We want to be at our best when we come back to this course in six weeks. This was really like a fact-finding mission to get a feel for the course and get experience on it."
Sophomore Claire Steigerwald set the pace for the Rockets, crossing the finish line with a time of 22:38.1 to take seventh. Junior Michelle Hostettler stopped the clock at 22:53.1 to land ninth. Freshman Emily Vining posted a time of 22:55.1 to finish in 11th place.
"Claire Steigerwald had a very good day and she handled herself really well, which was nice to see," Grove McDonough said. "She's going to look great on the course again come the end of October, so I feel good about that. Emily Vining had an outstanding day for a freshman as well running her first 6K on such a difficult course."
Western Michigan // Georga Dales Invitational
The Western Michigan cross country team opened up the 2019 season falling to Eastern Michigan at the George Dales Invitational at Stoatin Brae Golf Course on Friday evening.
WMU had four if its top five runners finish in the top 15, with the final score being 17-46 in favor of the Eagles. Brittney Hall was Western Michigan's top finisher in the 5k race, running a time of 18:21.51. EMU's Karlie Swanson was the overall winner.
"I thought we did a good job. I was impressed with Brittney Hall breaking up Eastern's mix. We've got a bit of work to do but I thought it was a pretty solid start to the season."
Sophomore Paisley Sipes finished 10th overall with a time of 18:55.04, followed by freshman Annalise James in 12th with a time of 18:59.20. Rebecca McNamee and Courtney Allen rounded out WMU's top five with times of 19:00.43 and 19:15.21. Freshmen Ashley Shipps and Mary Raclawski also saw their first collegiate action at the race.
