Rain did not bother Huskies
OSHKOSH, Wis. – The Michigan Tech men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2026 season at the Oshkosh Titan Fall Classic. Both squads fought through rainy conditions to get team wins over UW-Oshkosh, Ripon, Lawrence, and UW-Stout.
Sophia Rhein won the women’s 6K with a time of 21:27.3—15 seconds in front of the second-place finisher. Abagail Baumann also had a podium finish in third. Olive Halvorson (5th), Hannah Dupuis (8th), and Hailee Zimpel (9th) scored for the Huskies, and Bridget Burns (10th) was also in the top 10.
The women won with 26 points, followed by UW-Oshkosh (58), Ripon (78), Lawrence (101), and UW-Stout (110).
Colman Lenci won the men’s 8K in 25:16.3. He edged teammate Zeb Swager by 2.3 seconds. Brady Ketzenberger finished off the podium sweep for the Black and Gold. Eddie Snider (8th) was also in the top 10, and Rorik Holmquist also scored for the Huskies in 14th place.
The Huskies totaled 26 points in the men’s race, while UW-Stout (49), Lawrence (79), UW-Oshkosh (90), and Ripon (127) also competed.
Coach Robert Young:
We chose to mix our schedule up this year, and I’m glad we did because this meet was a lot of fun. While the course was very loopy with lots of tight turns, the fact that we got rained on throughout made it feel like real cross country. We have such a tough group. I knew we would respond well in these conditions, and we sure did.
We knew our women were going to be an improved squad this year, and I’m pleased with how we looked today. While I don’t put much stock in rankings, somehow we aren’t ranked in our region. These results will likely make the rankers think it’s time for a conversation.
Winning a race at the collegiate level is always special, so to have both race winners today is noteworthy. It looks like both Sophia and Coleman have taken a step in performance since last year, and I’m excited to see where we can get to this fall.
The rain really started coming down during the men’s race, and it definitely influenced how the course ran, with mud in a lot of places. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close enough. Welcome back to cross country season!
Tech returns to action on Oct. 16 at the Bradley Pink Classic, hosted by Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.
