The Collegian

Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Michael Mayday

Junior Ashley Quick is going to nationals.

Quick finished ninth overall out of 134 runners at the Midwest Regional Championships Saturday. She snagged one of the two spots for individual runners from the region.

"I never really thought that I would go individually," Quick said. "My purpose was to go with the team, and that was what I was trying to do."

The team as a whole finished only six points behind Ferris State University, falling just short of winning the third and final Midwest spot at nationals. Junior Erin Brunko finished 19th, and senior Erin Cvengros along with sophomores Melissa TenKate and Gena Burch also finished in the top 30.

"We knew when we all finished it was going to be down to the wire," Quick said. "We were going down on our cool down, and we saw the board up. I was behind the group, and you could just tell we didn't get it."

The top two qualifiers were Grand Valley State University and the University of Southern Indiana. GVSU dominated, with all seven of their runners finishing in the top 15.

Quick stressed it was a team effort that got her the spot at nationals, both at the meet and throughout the year. She said training with junior Erin Brunko has been especially helpful.

"The girls have worked so hard and they have come so far from what they were last year to what they were this year," Quick said.

The women, at one point in the season, were actually ranked higher nationally than any of the other Hillsdale teams have been so far this year, assistant coach Sarah Hinkley said.

The men had a disappointing end to their season, finishing seventh overall in the region. Grand Valley State University, Saginaw Valley State University and the University of Southern Indiana were the top three squads and will represent the Midwest at nationals.

Britton Deuel led the Hillsdale men, finishing 24th out of 128 runners. Sophomore Jacob Secor and junior Chuck Wysong were also in the top 40.

"Yesterday everything just kind of fell apart, the wheels fell off," junior Alex Ralston said.

Senior Timothy Howse, one of Hillsdale's top runners for most of the season, started strong and led the pack at the two-mile mark. Head coach Bill Lundberg speculated that he became overzealous and pushed himself as the leader harder than his normal pace. By the four-mile mark, Howse had fallen back, but was still in the top 25 or 30. Past the five-mile mark, he was visibly struggling and was pale. At that point, Lundberg pulled him out of the race.

"He was going to pass out, for sure," Hinkley said.

Next up for the teams is the track season. Most of the runners are taking time to rest before jumping back into training. For Quick, her sights are set on the national meet Nov. 21, where she will be competing for All-American honors.

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