Cross country teams stay closer to home in 2010 season
Run.
The CMU men’s and women’s cross country teams have been doing just that over the summer at 75 to 105 miles per week to prepare for the upcoming 2010 season.
The Chippewas begin on Sept. 3rd at the 25th annual Jeff Drenth Memorial in Mount Pleasant. Senior Melissa Darling won the meet last year with a time of 18 minutes, 49 seconds.
“I don’t look at it as there is pressure to win the meet again, but I would like a (CMU) girl to win it though,” Darling said.
Cross Country Director Willie Randolph said some of the program’s top runners will sit out early on in the season to prepare for meets later on in the year.
“We are trying to get our athletes to score more regional and national points this year,” Randolph said.
Last season, the men finished 27th at pre-nationals and third at NCAA regionals, while the women’s team finished 31st and fourth, respectively.
With the way the schedule turned out there are changes to the men’s side going into this season.
Randolph said Junior Matt Lutzke, who earned second-team All-MAC honors last season, and sophomore Tecumseh Adams will be redshirted to allow them another season to develop.
Staying home
There have also been a few adjustments in the schedule from last year as two of the biggest meets will be held in the state of Michigan.
The MAC Championships will be held on Oct. 30 in Kalamazoo and NCAA Regional Championships are scheduled for Nov. 13 in Rochester, minimizing the amount of travel the team has to take.
CMU will compete in five meets within the state of Michigan, compared to three in 2009. The Chippewas’ replaced one meet with the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn.
“We try to put the best schedule together to get the team to compete at the highest level, so being in a strong region running in Michigan is an advantage when you can have family come out to support you,” Randolph said.
Randolph stressed the coaching staff’s commitment to taking each meet as it comes and continuously building toward the end of the season.
“Everybody has a lot of high mileage and is looking strong, but don’t hold your breath because it is early,” he said. “It is what happens at the end that counts.”
CMU returns from its traditional four-day camp trip today.
2010 Men's & Women's Cross Country Schedule
Sept. 3 Jeff Drenth Memorial (Mount Pleasant) Sept. 17 Spartan Invitational (East Lansing, Mich.) Sept. 25 Roy Griak Invitational (Minneapolis, Minn.) Oct. 8 Michigan Intercollegiate Championships (Rochester, Mich.) Oct. 16 Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.) Oct. 30 MAC Championships (Kalamazoo) Nov. 13 NCAA Regional Championships (Rochester, Mich.) Nov. 22 NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.)
