Men finish third, Women fifth
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Michigan Tech cross country squads saw four men earn All-GLIAC honors and a third-place team finish as freshman Hannah DuPuis earned second team All-GLIAC for the fifth-place women at the GLIAC Championships hosted at the Calvin Cross Country Course on Saturday.
Quotable – Head Coach Robert Young
We’re quite pleased with our performances today. We challenged our teams as we came into the championship season and they responded very well to it. We saw a different level of toughness and competitiveness today than we’ve had and we love it. This is a tough league, but the high standard only makes us better.
Hannah DuPuis showed that her Lewis race was no fluke, running another very nice race today. I’m sure being back on home turf made that run extra special for her.
Our seniors, Ingrid Halverson, Claire Endres, and Ingrid Seagren, really represented well, showing their experience on this stage. Ingrid Seagren’s performance makes me especially proud as she’s been working toward a breakout like that so diligently all fall. What a time to produce it!
To have four men earn All-GLIAC is pretty special and a testament to how well they competed today. When there are two top-10 teams in the country in the field, the places at the front will be at a premium.
Zeb Swager’s run today was huge for our team and represents a breakout for him. He seems to be coming into his best form right at the right time and the 10k distance we will see in two weeks should only make him better.
Austin Smelker took full advantage of the opportunity he earned last week at our home meet by taking another nice step forward and placing way higher than at this meet last year. I’m happy with the momentum we built today and excited to carry it into regionals.
Women’s Race
DuPuis led the fifth-place women’s team (127 points) as the squad’s low-stick, claiming 14th-place as the second-fastest freshman in a field of 109 runners, clocking a new personal-best time of 21:31.4. The top-five averaged 22:12 for the 6k course with a spread of 1:12 from the first runner to the fifth.
Sophia Rhein claimed 26th-place, scoring 21 points for the Huskies, running a time of 22:06.9. The veteran duo of Halverson (30th-place) and Endres (33rd-place) had their best finishes at the conference meet as they both came away with personal-bests. Halverson ran 22:19.4 with Endres close behind in 22:22.2. Senior Ingrid Seagren (49th-place) followed suit with her best GLIAC Championship finish, improving 16 spots from a season ago also clocking a new personal-best passing the finish line in 22:43.8.
Sophomore Alex Li (22:49.7) and freshman Brooke Marquardt (22:52.2) produced new personal records to round out the Huskies’ top-seven in 53rd and 54th-place, respectively.
Men’s Race
For the second-straight year, the men of Michigan Tech saw four runners earn All-GLIAC accolades as the top-five averaged a time of 25:11 for 8k with the spread of the squad being 50 seconds. The team’s third-place finish was backed by 91 points.
Dennis improved on his placement from a season ago, taking 10th-place in a time of 24:48, breaking 25 minutes for his third time as a Husky en route to a First Team All-GLIAC distinction. In total, all of the top-seven who ran last year improved on their placement from 2024.
Swager jumped up 10 places to place second among the Black & Gold, taking 21st in a personal-best time of 25:05.3 for All-GLIAC Second Team. Veteran Callen Carrier and freshman Eddie Snider took 24th and 25th-place, respectively, to round out the Huskies’ All-GLIAC finishers. Carrier (25:14.9) finished eight spots ahead of his 2024 performance, as Snider was the fourth-fastest freshman in the field, running 25:21.5.
Brady Ketzenberger finished as the fifth runner for Michigan Tech, lowering his placement at the conference meet by seven spots to take 31st in the race in 25:32.6.
The Huskies pack running showed once again with Sawyer Fowler right behind Ketzenberger in 32nd-place as first-year Dylan Lydic breaking 26 minutes in his third 8k of his career running 25:41.2 for 36th-place.
Up Next
The postseason rolls on for the Huskies as they travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin, for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships hosted by Parkside on November 8.
