Tech Women finish second, Tech Men are third
WESTVILLE, Ind. – The Michigan Tech cross country teams competed at the 2026 GLIAC Championship on Friday. The women’s team placed second, and the men’s squad was third at the Westville Campus Cross Country Course hosted by Purdue Northwest.
Grand Valley State won both team titles, while Saginaw Valley State was ahead of the Huskies in the men’s race.
In the women’s 6K, Abagail Baumann and Sophia Rhein were All-GLIAC First Team performers in the fourth and fifth spots. Baumann ran 21:15.02, and Rhein was just over four seconds back. Olive Halvorson earned All-GLIAC Second Team honors, finishing 14th overall.
Hailee Zimpel (30th) and Bridget Burns (35th) also scored for the Huskies while Hannah Dupuis (53rd) and Alisa Teige (59th) rounded out Tech runners.
In the men’s 8K, Colman Lenci paced the Huskies with an 11th-place finish in 24:50.07, earning All-GLIAC First Team honors. Tech had a pair of All-GLIAC Second Team runners with Brady Ketzenberger in 23rd place and Dylan Lydic in the 25th position.
Eddie Snider (31st) and Jackson Lillywhite (33rd) rounded out scoring for the Huskies, while Lucas Seng (34th) and David DiGiallonardo (44th) also raced for the Black and Gold.
Coach Robert Young:
We had a very good day today. We set up our season to emphasize our championship races differently this year, and it looks to be paying off.
The set of races our men ran today represent a nice step in the right direction. The degree we raced as a team and moved well through the field on a real cross country course was what we are looking for. We were really moving up in the final third, and I think we will be even better over 10K in two weeks.
There was something different, something special, on our women’s side today. Right away in our pre-race huddle, the energy and body language were different. We were confident and ready in a way I hadn’t seen before, and it really translated onto the course. I saw a group that raced with heart and for each other through a gritty and muddy track to a well-earned result.
Despite my happiness with our results, I actually know we have ample room to improve for regionals in two weeks. I think today’s race could serve as a springboard to racing our very best at the exact right moment.
Tech gets back on the course on Nov. 21 at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship hosted by Parkside.
