Courtesy: Sarah Chapelle
The men’s and women’s cross country teams put forth an impressive showing Sept. 12 at the Michigan State University Spartan Invitational. The men’s team placed eighth and the women’s team 10th in a competitive field of Division I programs and multiple Big Ten schools.
While this was the second race for both the men and women, it was the first time each team raced their respective typical collegiate cross country distances, 8k for the men and 6k for the women.
Junior Eleanor Clark said she and her teammates went into this meet prepared to race hard and test themselves.
“It’s really good to have some success with a bigger field, as compared to the home meet last week,” Clark said. “We had a lot of PRs on the team.”
One of those PRs was earned by sophomore Allison Kuzma, who scored 18th individually in 21:02.3, smashing her previous personal best by more than 30 seconds and executing the fastest time by Hillsdale women’s XC since 2023. Junior Savannah Fraley and Clark took the 106th and 107th places, crossing the line in 22.48.2 and 22:48.7 respectively. Freshman Grace Tykocki took 151st in 24:01.9 and fellow freshman Caroline Roberts finished 171st in 24:46.6.
Senior Gabe Phillips led the men’s side scoring 33rd overall in a time of 24:37.4, achieving a personal best and the fastest 8k time by a Hillsdale runner since 2019. Junior Caleb Youngstedt placed 92nd with a time of 25:37.8, followed by senior Nathaniel Osborne taking 97th in 25:45.7. Two freshmen finished out the scoring runners in their first collegiate 8k with John Richardson taking 98th in 25:46.2 and Jefferson Regitz placing 121st in 26:22.8
Osborne commented on how he believes the main strength of the team this year lies in the depth of the team and their ability to keep each other accountable.
“We’re a really deep team, and so learning to run as a pack and to help our teammates out is really going to be our opportunity to shine as a team this year,” Osborne said. “Keeping our top group close together, and getting those times down into a competitive spot for conference and regionals is the goal.”
Head coach R.P. White also emphasised this vital aspect of teamwork. He noted that while individuals on both teams demonstrated tremendous athletic performances, their collective ability to execute race strategy as a group was even more impressive.
“They controlled their emotions, paid attention to the details of the race, and didn’t let a big environment distract them from running for one another,” White said. “That kind of maturity and composure will serve them extremely well later in the season.
Charger cross country will continue training this week, looking forward to its next meet at the Siena Heights Invite in Adrian, Michigan, Sept. 26.
