Cross country looks to use depth to win MAC for first time in a decade


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Members of the CMU cross country team start the MAC championship meet Saturday at Riverwood golf course.

Matt Kaczor, the associate head coach of the Central Michigan University cross country teams, does not try to have large rosters on the men’s or women’s side, but he does look to have depth.

The 2015 Chippewas have a strong crop of runners returning as both teams try to stand on top of the podium for the first time in over a decade. The men last won the Mid-American Conference Championship in 2004, while the women haven’t been victorious since 2000.

Last season, the men finished in third place, while the women placed fifth.

The team has been training at Timber Ridge RV & Recreation Resort in Traverse City for training camp. Kaczor said it is not only a good time for training, but also a good time to come together as a group.

“(Our newcomers) have opened up really well,” Kaczor said. “That’s kind of the point of camp, to try and get everybody on the same page and understand what we’re trying to do.”

The men will be led by senior Nate Ghena, a two-time first team All-MAC selection. Ghena has become a leader to a group of freshmen that includes Matt Beckmann of DeKalb, Illinois and Luke Anderson of Harbor Beach.

“(These freshmen) want to be good,” Ghena said. “They’ve come here and have taken everything in. They’re big question-askers.

“When I came here my freshman year I just wanted to not die. They are coming in here and doing everything they can to win.”

Kaczor says he has a “one-two punch” with Ghena and senior Silas DeKalita, who transferred from Northwood University last season. The men will also seek contributions from sophomore Joseph Emmanuel and juniors Casey Voisin and Spencer Nousain.

The women lose Abbey Kelto, who set the school record at the MAC Championships (20:43) and placed 84th at the NCAA Championships. Senior Breanne Lesnar said that Kelto was inspirational to herself and the team.

“Abbey has been a huge inspiration for myself and all of us girls,” Lesnar said. “She believed in the training and did the little things that she needed to along the way and was fully committed.”

Lesnar placed 21st overall at the MAC Championships last season and was a second team All-MAC selection in 2013. Tendonitis in her right foot kept her out of the track and field season, but has been rehabilitating in Mount Pleasant all summer.

Lesnar will receive help this year from juniors Michaela Bundy, Hannah Davis and Katie Weiler, who all placed in the Top 50 in the MAC Championships. Sophomore Kirsten Olling, a transfer from Arizona State University, and redshirt freshman Megan O’Neill, a transfer from Wisconsin, will compete for the first time for the Chippewas.

Lesnar also said to look out for one Chippewas in particular.

“I think (junior) Esther Bell is really going to break out this season,” Lesnar said. “She’s been looking really good on the runs.”

The team has only five meets leading up to the MAC Championships in Akron, Ohio on Halloween.

“They don’t have a lot of opportunities to showcase (themselves) and improve,” Kaczor said.

“They know that they have to be on their A-game early enough and make sure that they are there and counted on when needed.”

Ghena echoed his coach, knowing that the MAC Championships are determined on one day.

“We have to make sure we all show up on the same day,” Ghena said.

Ghena and Lesnar have been doing the “little things” in Mount Pleasant over the summer, which Ghena described as “stretching, working on the core and weight lifting.”

Lesnar hopes those “little things” will mesh well with the depth on the women’s side, which is projected to have 15 to 16 athletes.

“We have a handful of girls we can depend on,” Lesnar said. “The order might change up meet-to-meet. I think it will be a good experience for us. If we work well together, we can be really successful this season.”

Lesnar hopes to be a first team All-MAC selection this season, and Ghena will go for his third. Kaczor, however, has a different goal in mind for his team.

“We’re looking to get ourselves on the podium and hoist that trophy.”

The teams begin their season Sept. 4 at the Jeff Drenth Memorial in Mount Pleasant, the only home meet of the season.

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About Evan Sasiela

Evan Sasiela is the University Editor at Central Michigan Life and a senior at Central Michigan ...

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