Dirty, Muddy Racing: cross hangs in
Patrick Timmis
Issue date: 10/22/09 Section: Sports
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"It was really muddy and rained the whole time, really bad weather so the course was a disaster," senior captain Erin Cvengros said.
The mud did not stop Hillsdale's women, however.
"We all ran well; we had some girls (set) personal records," Cvengros said. "A lot of girls ran better than last week at Notre Dame, which was surprising with the bad conditions."
The Chargers defeated three Division I teams, Western Michigan University, Michigan State University and Central Michigan University, as well as GLIAC members Northwood University and Saginaw Valley State University.
Sophomore Erin Brunko finished 14th and set a personal record by about seven seconds, according to Cvengros. Junior Ashley Quick finished 15th, one second behind Brunko, and Cvengros was also in the top 30.
"We liked especially how the ladies looked," head coach Bill Lundberg said.
The team believes they have still more potential.
"The other lady who needs to go out a little better but still ran well was Erin Cvengros," Lundberg said.
Injuries and illness were also a factor. Sophomore Amanda Putt did not race, as she has been red-shirted for the season due to injury.
"Definitely Amanda Putt would make a difference to help the team," Lundberg said.
Sophomore Melissa TenKate was also out of action.
"One of our top runners, Melissa TenKate, has pneumonia and didn't run." Cvengros said. "That was a little bit of a setback, and we'll definitely do better with her."
The men were dissatisfied with their performance again. They finished ninth in the meet, behind GLIAC members Grand Valley and Saginaw Valley but ahead of Northwood.
"We didn't run well," sophomore Chuck Wysong said. "We definitely have room to improve, and we'll be ready at conference."
Senior Timothy Howse led the Chargers, finishing 26th out of 232 runners. He ran 45 seconds faster than Hillsdale's second runner, senior Cameron Blaauw.
"Our guys like [senior] Britton Deuel, [junior] Chuck Wysong, [sophomore] Jacob Secor and [junior] Alex Ralston can really run well," Lundberg said. "To be the top two or three team (in the conference) we want to be, those guys need to close that gap."
Sophomore Tim Jagielski, who was an All-American last year but has struggled with injury so far this season, ran in the open race at his own expense, as his status is still uncertain. According to Lundberg, Jagielski, despite his injury and the consequent lack of consistent training, can still be one of the top seven runners for the Chargers. The question, which will be decided this week, is whether or not to red-shirt him or to use one of his seasons of eligibility this year.
The next meet for both teams is the GLIAC Championships in Kenosha, Wis., Oct. 24.
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