Cross-country teams compete in Notre Dame Invitational

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Two runners were singled out as ‘important’ pieces for the Central Michigan men’s cross-country team during the Notre Dame Invitational at 2 p.m. today.

Assistant coach Matt Kaczor singled out sophomore Tecumseh Adams and redshirt freshman Ethan Lievense.

“We are really counting on our top two to four runners to step it up at this meet,” Kaczor said. “We need Adams and Lievense to be leaders.”

Adams and Lievense can fix the 17-second gap between teammates that occurred at CMU’s last meet.

“We are trying to get the team to stay together better,” Kaczor said. “We had a 17-second gap in our last race and that’s something that we can fix and close that up.”

Lievense wants to put the team before himself.

Adams said he would be part of the group that leads CMU.

“Well I know coach is counting on me, but we win and lose as a team,” Adams said. “I’m going to try and run up front with the lead pack. I’ll make my move at the end and hopefully take first place.”

Lievense hopes that all the hard work by the upperclassmen pays off.

“These upperclassmen have put in so much hard work and dedication over the years,” Lievense said. “It’s my job now to help the team. I want to the upperclassmen to get some Mid-American Conference rings. They deserve it.”

He’s excited to go out-of-state with the team for the first time.

“Last year I couldn’t travel with the team, so I’m really excited to be traveling out of state. Notre Dame is a very prestigious school, it’s very exciting to run there. We will all have jitters before we run, but we’ll get them out before we start.”

Adams and Lievense are confident in what their team can do.

“No more second chances this season,” Adams said. “We hope to take first or second at this meet and place a lot of guys in the top 15.”

Women

The CMU women’s cross-country team is in the heart of its season.

They run at 2 p.m. Friday in the Notre Dame Invitational.

It is their last race before four championship runs on the schedule and a pre-national race that determines runners in the NCAA Nationals race.

CMU enters Notre Dame ranked No. 12 in the Great Lakes Region of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association regional poll and is unranked in the national poll.

The weather could factor the runners’ performances.

The weather forecast in Notre Dame predicts 50-degree weather and rain all day with 25 mile-per-hour winds, according to The Weather Channel.

After the Notre Dame Invitational, CMU runs at the Michigan Intercollegiate Championships in Hillsdale on Oct. 7.