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Printer-Friendly ModeTough competition has team hoping they can fare well at upcoming GLIAC meet
October 12, 2009 —
As weather gets colder, the Cardinals men’s and women’s cross country teams are just warming up.
With the biggest meets of the season coming up, including the GLIAC Championship and the NCAA National Championships, it is important that both teams are running at their best if they hope to compete with some of the country’s top runners.
In their most recent meet, the Michigan Intercollegiate Championship in Grand Rapids, each team competed against top competition such as Grand Valley State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan. The men’s team finished in sixth place; the women’s team came in ninth place.
The men’s team had four runners finish in the top 50 while the women’s team had three top 50 finishers.
Leading the way for the men was sophomore Nick Eckel, who finished tied with two other competitors with a time of 25:54. The success Eckel achieved was nothing new. Earlier in the season he was named the GLIAC men’s cross country “Runner of the Week.” His third place finish in the Cardinal Invitational with a time of 25:41 was the race that propelled him into being named the top runner of the week.
Coming in after Eckel in the Michigan Intercollegiate Championship was senior Steve Genther with a time of 26:01, which was good enough for 24th place. Senior Cortland Seaver came in just after Genther with a time of 26:09, placing him in 27th place.
On the women’s side, senior Amber Catlin led the way for the Cardinals, finishing with a time of 19:21, which was good enough for 37th place. Ashley Meyer and Jean Hollerbach were the remaining Cardinals that finished in the top 50. Meyer finished with a time of 19:25 and in 39th place, while Hollerbach came in 46th place with a time of 19:37.
With each team facing off against such high caliber opponents in their recent meet, the Cardinals hope to perform well when they return home to compete in the GLIAC Championships at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 24.