Cross country finishes season strong at Great Lakes Regional
Men's and women's cross-country competed at the Great Lakes Regional meet Friday, finishing 18th and ninth, respectively.
The men were led by sophomore standout Nate Ghena, who placed 41st with a time of 31:31 in the 10k. Junior Ethan Lievense crossed the finish line soon after in 65th place with a time of 32:02, followed by freshman Spencer Nousain, who finished 79th with a time of 32:26.
Head coach Matt Kaczor said the Chippewas mid-level placement was a result of losing three high scoring runners. After losing Kyle Stacks, Ben Wynsma and Monte Scott to injuries, the rear pack was left empty. Despite the efforts of Tanner Pesonen, Casey Voisin and Sean Kelly, Central Michigan has been unable to fill the gap.
“With Nate, Ethan and Spencer, I knew that they’d do well,” Kaczor said. “By losing Stacks, Wynsma and Scott, we lost a lot of points. We could have been a Top 10 team if we had everyone there, but in the end we just didn’t have enough depth.”
CMU would end 18th of 31 teams.
WOMEN'S TEAM
On the women’s side, sophomore Breanne Lesnar was the top finisher, placing 45th for the 6K with a time of 21:32. Senior Krista Parks, who earned the title of the first woman four-year All-MAC runner in CMU history, finished in 50th with a time of 21:36.
Sophomore Kelly Schubert crossed the line right after in 51st, running 21:37. Sophomore Alyssa Dyer and junior Anny Kelto capped off the Top Five, both crossing the line at 21:46.
All of the women’s Top Five finished within 14 seconds of each other and all placed in the Top 60. It was also one of seven times the women's cross-country team landed a Top Ten position in the Great Lakes region. This spectacular performance, in supplemented by an outstanding third place finish at the previous MAC meet, is some of the best cross-country in CMU history.
“The ladies finished off the season really well,” Kaczor said. “It was pretty spectacular.”
Neither team will advance to the national meet, but the men and women will be able to enjoy a brief break before indoor track season begins in January. Kaczor is already looking to next year’s cross-country season.
“Nate, Ethan and Spencer have really solidified their position as some of the top returning guys in the conference next year,” Kaczor said. “We’ll be losing Krista on the women’s side, but having four of the Top Five return bodes well for the future.”
