Central Michigan's Stimpfel Named Runner of the Week
MAC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week
Bransen Stimpfel, Central Michigan, Sophomore
Cass City, Mich. (Cass City)
Stimpfel was the first man across the finish line at the Jeff Drenth Memorial 5K on Friday morning, notching the first victory of his collegiate career. Stimpfel shattered his previous best in the 5K - 15 minutes, 55.3 seconds, which he set at least year's Drenth - by more than 50 seconds, finishing at 15:04.2 at Pleasant Hills Golf Course.
Other Nominees:
Noah Schaub, Bowling Green
Junior, Bowling Green, Ohio
Was aggressive in the field from the start. Schaub carried the lead throughout the majority of the race, holding off Dismas Koech of Toledo. His previous best for a 5K was 15:43.9, nearly 14 seconds slower than his finish time Friday.
Benjamin Cardamone, Buffalo
Sophomore, Elmira, NY (Elmira)
Cardamone executed a strong Race at the Harry Lang Invite, placing 5th overall and running the fastest time, 20:47.0, by any UB runner over the 6400m trek at Colgate in program history. Cardamone paced the Bulls and led them to a 2nd place finish, just behind Syracuse.
Zach Young, Eastern Michigan
Freshman, Marion, Ill. (Marion)
Young got his first taste of collegiate competition Friday, Sept. 2, at the Michigan Open in Dexter, Mich. The event served as an early opportunity for the freshmen to get their feet wet, as nine different freshmen competed. Young was the first Eagle to cross the finish line out of the 11 total EMU harriers.
Christopher Torpy, Miami
Sophomore, Orland Park, Ill. (Carl Sandburg)
Torpy, coming off a great freshman cross country season, placed seventh in his 2017 debut. The sophomore finished just seven-tenths of a second in front of his brother, Sean Torpy, who took eighth and helped the ‘Hawks beat out Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Dismas Koech, Toledo
Sophomore, Eldoret, Kenya (Simotwo)
Koech turned in his best performance as a Toledo Rockets on a cold and windy Friday evening in Bowling Green. Koech ran to a second place finish in the Mel Brodt Invitational, his best place in his year plus at UT. The Kenyan clocked a 15:35.1 in the 5K event, five second behind the race winner. Koech led much of the race, cutting the wind for the leaders, and led all Toledo runners to the finish.
