Sophia Rhein sixth; Sam Lange eighth for Huskies
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Michigan Tech cross country squads made strides in their second meet of the year as the No. 26 men finished as runner-ups in the Jo Rider men’s Maroon race, while sophomore Sophia Rhein placed sixth in a field of over 300 runners in the Suzy Wilson women’s Maroon race at the Les Bolstad Golf Course on the campus of University of Minnesota on Friday.
The men scored 91 points led by senior Sam Lange finishing eighth overall in a field of over 350 runners to finish second in the team race to central region foe No. 19 Northwest Missouri State, scoring 36 points.
Augustana senior Ryan Hartman won the Maroon race in 25:16.1, winning by 13 seconds on a warm September day that played a factor in the race. For context, only six runners broke 26:00 in the Jo Rider Maroon race, the lowest amount in the last four years.
Rhein led the women’s squad with her sixth-place finish as the team placed seventh with 193 points in a tie with Minnesota Duluth who earned the tiebreaker. The Huskies were six points shy of 5th place, No. 29 nationally ranked Minnesota State (187 points).
Quotable
“I was very pleased with how we ran today. We know this course runs tough and it was pretty hot again this year, amplifying the difficulty,” Tech head coach Robert Young said. “We struggled in the heat here last year and learned some lessons we were able to apply to our performance this year. Nearly all of our men executed their race plans very well and it shows in how they were able to move through the field as the race wore on. We had hoped that this strategy would set us up to win but NW Missouri was just the better squad today and it’s hard to be mad when you have all of your scoring in the top 25. I’m very proud of how we raced, and I know we’re in a great position to continue to progress through the season. Sam is a master of this patient strategy and he played it well today for a top-ten result.
“Our women ran smart and patient races and came away with a great result. This was a strong field and we were right there in the thick of it. Sophia took a step forward as a racer today doing very well to position herself among the lead pack and then stay patient as the race developed. We’ve known she is fit and I’m excited to see her bringing it out in her races. Our women’s pack did an excellent job of racing together and competing through the hardest part of the course. Alisa Teige had the sort of day we’ve seen flashes of in practice and I hope to see more in the future.”
“Both of our teams ran the course to the best of their current abilities,” assistant coach Luke Moore added. “I’m especially proud that we were able to stay patient up front and have the guys to push in the second half of the race. Our men’s pack continues to be very consistent. We have a slew of guys that can all score for us and make an impact. Sam and Tucker finished within the top 15 and are showing promise as low sticks.
“Our women’s team got out a bit more aggressively and did a great job pushing throughout the entire race. Sophia proved herself as a threat in a large field and will be one to watch as the season progresses.”
Michigan Tech ran a smart race in the heat coming through the first mile as the fourth-place team in the standings picking off competition as the race progressed.
Lange moved up 29 spots from 3k to the finish and 14 spots in the final 3k to take eighth in 26:16.6. Senior Tucker Ringhand (26:29.4) was 13 seconds back but just four spots behind Lange to take 12th. Transfer Michael Dennis moved up six spots in the final 3k of the race to finish in 23rd with a time of 26:44.0
Callen Carrier made his way back into the top-five for the first time this season moving from 62nd at the mile mark to 25th by the finish line, just seconds behind Dennis in 26:46.9.
The freshmen trio of Colman Lenci (26:50.9), Zeb Swager (26:51.0) and Brady Ketzenberger (27:05.6) rounded out Tech’s top seven finishing in 27th, 30th and 38th, respectively.
The team averaged 26:37.5 for 8k with a spread of 34.4 seconds between the first and fifth Tech runners.
The women also progressed through the race while multiple other teams struggled late, with the heat surely playing a factor. The Black & Gold moved up from 11th place to ninth from the mile mark to 3k and continued to press in the final two course markers moving up one spot at the 5k mark and the finish.
Rhein was among the top six the entire race and made big swings from her 28th-place finish in her freshman campaign, dropping 50 seconds off her time from last year.
Cedar Gordon (24:14) moved up 18 spots from 3k to the finish to take 35th overall and be the second finisher for the Black & Gold. Sophomore Alisa Teige moved up a shocking 47 spots from halfway to the finish taking 53rd overall in 24:33.3.
Tech’s fourth and fifth runners were five places from each other with first-year Erica Kazin (24:36.8) and junior Claire Endres (24:40) taking 56th and 61st, respectively.
Sophomore Bridget Burns (24:50.1) and junior Ingrid Halverson (24:57.2) rounded out the Huskies’ top-seven placing 69th and 77th in the field.
Up Next
The Huskies will turn their focus to the final monumental race of the regular season traveling to Romeoville, Illinois, for the Lewis Crossover hosted by Lewis University on Saturday, Oct. 12.
