Cross Country Heads to Cardinal Classic

KALAMAZOO -- The Western Michigan cross country team gets a preview of the 2011 Mid-American Conference Championship on Friday as they head to the Cardinal Classic at Ball State.

The Broncos get to run on the 6k course that will host the MAC Championship in two weeks.

"Knowing Muncie, Ind., there won't be too many hills," said head coach Kelly Lycan, who spent time at Ball State as an assistant prior to coming to WMU. "You should be able to see the runners during most of the race so that will be good to keep track of them."

WMU has seen improvement little by little, over the last few weeks with sophomores Liza Boudreau, Jeriesha Tucker and Aisha Hodge seeing the most improvement.

"We've been getting a little bit better every week," added Lycan. "Liza, Jeriesha and Aisha have been doing a great job of running together and closing our gap in our top five."

Despite the flat course, challenges still remain on the unfamiliar course.

"When you're running cross, most of the time you are in a pack of people so managing your position in the pack is key when there aren't many course obstacles," explained Lycan. "Runners at this level all have a good sense of pace. Instead of looking at times, they are just trying to look at position in relation to the other people on the course. It is all about the placing and timing is secondary."

Western Michigan gets a week off before heading back down to Muncie for the MAC Championship on October 29.