ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The Michigan Tech cross country squads went toe-to-toe with the nation's-best teams at the most highly sought-after meet of the weekend seeing the No. 23 nationally-ranked men's team take seventh overall (292 points) as the women's team finished 19th (562 points) in the team race. Senior Sam Lange (25th-place) and sophomore Sophia Rhein (35th-place) were the first finishers for the Black & Gold in the championship races.

Quotable

Our championship men's team showed they are ready to snag a spot to the national championships. We were one of the most aggressive movers in the field and the results showed it. Our 1-2 punch of Sam Lange and Tucker Ringhand moved up especially well and will be factors in the bigger races to come," Tech head cross country coach Robert Young said. "Our championship women's team was a mixed bag with a few breakthroughs. Our true freshman Alex Li stepped up big time for us and closed out our scoring 5. Ingrid Halverson had a great day as well. Our women in the open race put themselves out there and raced to the best of their abilities. Graduate assistant coach Wesley Beck saw big moves throughout the race by Brielle Kero and Julia Moxey. I think they surprised themselves in the last 1000m. Some of our men in the open race seized the opportunity to race in a field where they could act as front runners. Lucas Seng and Austin Smelker raced up near the front and closed out their race together for a great finish."

"Overall I'm glad to see where we stack up against this competitive field," Assistant coach Luke Moore added. "It is good to know where we stand as we move into championship season."

The men's championship race started the day, seeing the No. 23 Huskies best six teams among the top 30 in the nation, finishing seventh overall in the team standings with 292 points, just six points behind GLIAC powerhouse No. 4 nationally-ranked Grand Valley State.

Sam Lange repeated as the top-finisher for the Black & Gold taking 25th overall in 24:33.6 just shy of his personal-best set at the Lewis Crossover in 2022. Veteran Tucker Ringhand finished a second later to take 27th in a field of 339 runners, lowering his 8k personal-best by 20 seconds. 

Transfer Michael Dennis in his Lewis Crossover debut took 51st overall to be a solid third runner in the team scoring, breaking 25 for the first time in a Michigan Tech uniform with his time of 24:52.6.

Callen Carrier lowered his 8k time by 14 seconds as the fourth runner for Tech claiming 91st in the field with a time of 25:16.6. Zeb Swager (25:21.4) in his third race on grass for Tech, made the top-five for the Huskies finishing five seconds behind Carrier in a new personal-best time that placed him 104th in the race.

Colman Lenci (25:29.8) and Sawyer Fowler (25:29.9) finished side-by-side taking 122nd and 123rd, respectively.

The men's top-five average time was 24:51 with the spread from the first to fifth runner being 47 seconds. 

Sophomore standout Sophia Rhein was five seconds from her 6k personal-best with an impressive 35th place finish in a field of 334 runners which showcased 10 top-30 nationally ranked teams. 

Ingrid Halverson was the second finisher for MTU taking 123rd place in 23:11.2. Veteran Cedar Gordon (23:21.6) was 10 seconds back taking 149th overall with Claire Endres (23:22.4) just behind her taking 151st.

First Year Alex Li had a breakthrough race, making her first appearance among the top-five with her 187th place finish, running a personal-best time of 23:43.1. 

Sophomore Alisa Teige (24:02.3) and junior Ingrid Seagren (24:05) rounded out the top seven placing 220th and 222nd, respectively.

The women's top-five had a spread of 1:42 with an average 6k time of 23:03.

Up Next

The Huskies wrap up the regular season on Friday (Oct. 18), traveling to Escanaba, Michigan, for the Bay College Invite.