Amber Brunmeier was solid as she paced the Broncos to finish third overall
Courtesy: Zolton Cohen
Broncos Take Second at Michigan Intercollegiates
HILLSDALE, Mich. -- The Western Michigan cross country team fell just shy of claiming the top spot in the State of Michigan as they took second place at the Michigan Intercollegiates at Hillsdale College on Friday.
The Broncos finished with 35 points and were edged by Michigan State, who came in with 22 on the day. WMU and MSU combined to take the top 19 spots in the Division I race with The Broncos' Amber Brunmeier placing third overall with a 5k time of 18:47.40.
"We ran a lot better today," said head coach Kelly Lycan. "We positioned ourselves very well at the beginning of the race. It was a difficult course that started out with the first 600 meters going uphill. I thought our team did a really good job at getting out aggressively but being smart enough not to get out too fast. After the first 400 meters they took a breath and started racing."
Rachel Whitley was WMU's second finisher and fifth overall with a time of 18:56.58 and was followed by Liza Boudreau in seventh and Jeriesha Tucker in eighth. Bangor native Aisha Hodge rounded out WMU's top five by taking 12th overall with a time of 19:25.38. In total there was a 38 second gap between WMU's 1-5 finishers, a season best.
"I was really satisfied with the competitiveness that they showed," added Lycan. "They were trying to beat people and that is what we need with a young group. They need to learn how to win and learn. Michigan State is one of the top teams in the region and in the nation and it was nice to get out there, run and compete hard against a good team."
Freshman Becca Peacock had her season-best race with a time of 19:42.80 and Teresa Marin also finished well for the Broncos with a time of 19:56.22.
Western Michigan heads to the Cardinal Invitational at Ball State next week where they get a preview of the course that will be holding the 2011 Mid-American Conference Championships on Oct. 24.
The Broncos finished with 35 points and were edged by Michigan State, who came in with 22 on the day. WMU and MSU combined to take the top 19 spots in the Division I race with The Broncos' Amber Brunmeier placing third overall with a 5k time of 18:47.40.
"We ran a lot better today," said head coach Kelly Lycan. "We positioned ourselves very well at the beginning of the race. It was a difficult course that started out with the first 600 meters going uphill. I thought our team did a really good job at getting out aggressively but being smart enough not to get out too fast. After the first 400 meters they took a breath and started racing."
Rachel Whitley was WMU's second finisher and fifth overall with a time of 18:56.58 and was followed by Liza Boudreau in seventh and Jeriesha Tucker in eighth. Bangor native Aisha Hodge rounded out WMU's top five by taking 12th overall with a time of 19:25.38. In total there was a 38 second gap between WMU's 1-5 finishers, a season best.
"I was really satisfied with the competitiveness that they showed," added Lycan. "They were trying to beat people and that is what we need with a young group. They need to learn how to win and learn. Michigan State is one of the top teams in the region and in the nation and it was nice to get out there, run and compete hard against a good team."
Freshman Becca Peacock had her season-best race with a time of 19:42.80 and Teresa Marin also finished well for the Broncos with a time of 19:56.22.
Western Michigan heads to the Cardinal Invitational at Ball State next week where they get a preview of the course that will be holding the 2011 Mid-American Conference Championships on Oct. 24.
