Gaining national exposure and building confidence for the Mid-American Conference championships were two goals set out this weekend for the women’s cross country team.

Mission accomplished.

The team finished 15th at the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet hosted by Indiana State Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind. Pre-Nationals gave both teams the opportunity to grab points for the end of the year and to see where they are before MAC championships Oct. 30 in Rochester.

Junior Raeanne Lohner led the women’s side, finishing 26th overall in a field of 261 runners with a time of 20 minutes, 49 seconds.

“I really focused what I could control in the race and made sure I personally focused on my splits,” Lohner said.

Willie Randolph, director of track & field and cross country, credits her performance to the training and the work of coaching staff.

“Coach Kaczor has done a great job training with her to help the transition from track to cross country,” Randolph said.

Finishing in a pack is one of the main keys for a successful team. For the Chippewas, the next four runners did just that. Senior Danielle Dakroub set a personal-best with a time of 21:39, finishing 97th.

Freshman Krista Parks (104th, 21:41), senior Kylee Kubacki (124th, 21:53.6) and sophomore Maddie Ribant (125th, 21:53.8) rounded out the lineup.

“Everyone left feeling like we are in the mix for a MAC title,” Lohner said, “but it will be a challenge that can be done.”

Randolph’s goal for the team was to finish in the top 30, but with how well the team performed they have a chance to become ranked nationally, a feat that has never happened before with the CMU women’s cross country teams.

“The confidence level is exactly where we want it to be right now,” Randolph said.

Men’s side

The men’s team is not likely to contend for a MAC title this year after its 34th place finish. The team is rebuilding and does not have a front runner like they had last year.

Senior Chris Pankow paced the way for the men, finishing in 124th out of 241 runners in a time of 25 minutes, 17 seconds.

“I just forgot about the clock and focused on running,” Pankow said.

Other finishers for the 8k race included senior Cory Arnold (25:43) and sophomore Jason Drudge (177th, 25:52), who ran in the same pack for much of the race. Rounding out the top seven were junior Jeremy Kiley (209th, 26:21.3) and freshman Nathan Huff (213th, 26:31.4). Redshirt freshmen Zach Tranter (26:40.3) and Chris Lotz (27:24.0) finished 219th and 231st, respectively.

“We really wanted to finish in the top 20, but it really wasn’t to our liking,” Pankow said. “Some of the guys are still learning how the race works.”

But even though they are not one of the front runners to win the MAC, it does not mean the team has lost its confidence to compete.

“They are very aware they can do better than they have shown,” Randolph said. “The young guys ran more mentally competitive than physically at this one. Running as a team is more important this year for the men’s side.”

Time off

As they prepare for the MAC meet, the message from Randolph to both teams is still the same as day one: Go out and demand respect.

The top seven for the men’s and women’s sides will remain the same for now, but both will more than likely take nine runners to Kalamazoo in case of injuries.

The training will continue to be different for each athlete the rest of the way. In order for a strong showing in two weeks, Randolph said the athletes need start doing their homework on their competition.

“They must be aware of where everyone is at in the rest of the conference, including who they must beat person-to-person,” he said.