MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
RUNNING CLUB
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” - Henry Ford
On Wednesday August 28th, a diverse bunch of college kids met outside IM West for the first practice of something called “Running Club.” Several dozen new and veteranindividuals mingled during a few easy miles then headed their separate ways, all wondering where they would fit into the 2013 edition of the Michigan State Running Club. Eighty days and several thousand miles later, teams made up of those same people finished 18th, 12th, 11th, and 7th in the entire country.
November 16th, Hershey, Pennsylvania. The weather and course conditions were ideal when the men kicked off the day’s successes in the B Race. After the top six came through the mile within nine seconds, Pat Frahm began to use the hills to his advantage in a long push to finish 63rd in 30:15. Rodney Weng, Austin Katona, and Jonathan Sollish ran within sight of each other the entire race, charging in at 31:22, 31:33, and 31:38 respectively. Ryan Squanda (32:13) closed out the scoring for the team, which would ultimately finish 18th out of 26 teams with 495 points. Phil Baeza (32:59), Greg Vranish(33:34) and Michael Kincaid (37:29) all had impressive kicks down the finish stretch. However, it was Cody Lange who carried the day with his two and a half minute personal best of 42:06, a colossal feat on one of the most challenging cross country courses in the country.
Spartans Come Together for Best Finishes Ever at NIRCA Nats
Three All-Americans
NIRCA Cross Country Nationals
Hershey, PA
Saturday November 16th, 2013
The Spartans take off at the start of the mens A race. The men placed 12th out of 46 teams on the hilly course at Hershey.
Megan McNitt paced the Spartans in the women’s B Race with her 69th place finish of 27:48, a strong way to close out a solid, healthy cross season. The rest of the top five was comprised of newcomers to the club: Olivia Rose (28:28), Katy Gwizdala (28:47), Daniela Pittiglio and Shannon Line. The last two crossed the finish line hand-in-hand, clocking in at 30:36 for new 6k personal bests. Returners Ustina Shives (31:33), Andrea Zuchora(32:02), and Elena Mikelonis (32:04) closed out the team, which took 11th out of 14 teams with 292 points. Many of them ran a faster 5k split than their 5k races earlier in the season.
The men in the A Race, who were given the nod for honorable mention in the NIRCA rankings, ran to a 12th place finish against the staunchest national competition yet, including the two teams that beat MSU at the Great Lakes Regional. MRun took 8th while Indiana won the national title in dominating fashion over favorite Oregon and Iowa State. As he has done most of the season, Adam Terwillegar led the charge, passing through 5k in 16:22. Colin Riley was within seconds at the 5k and 4 mile mark. Adam charged in to finish 23rd in 26:46 as the first Spartan male All-American. Both Colin (27:06, 33rd) andTrent Johnson (28:07, 91st) moved up around twenty spots throughout the middle stages of the race, placing very well compared to their Great Lakes Region competition. Bennett Prud’homme ran 28:37 in his last cross country race as a Spartan. Kevin Glime filled out the top five with his run of 29:04; Paul Salach (29:15) shadowed him by a few seconds the entire way. Alex Miros was the seventh man in 29:29, only five seconds slower than his time at Regionals on a much faster course.
The grand finale of the day was undoubtedly the #8 ranked lady Spartans outperforming their ranking by finishing seventh with 309 points and beating Great Lakes rival Indiana, revenging their six point loss to the Hoosiers at Regionals. Steph Schmidt (22:56) andAlex Dutcher (23:37) once again proved that they are the best 1-2 punch in the region with their pair of All-American finishes. 6th place and 19th place are the two highest finishes by any Spartan at NIRCA Nationals. Tarah Thompson had a fantastic day, splitting 20:30 through 5k en route to a 79th place finish in 25:31. As they have all season, this team vibed and paced off each other. Valerie Morel and Kathryn Dugal carried each other through the first mile, with Christina Casali and Emma Winn twenty seconds back. Val pulled ahead to run 25:53 while Kathryn ran 26:59 in her final cross country race wearing the green and white. Christina moved up strongly in the middle of the race to run 27:10, while Emma ran 28:03. These seven women recorded the highest ever team finish by Michigan State at the national meet.
The thirty plus Spartans who journeyed to Hershey came together in August as a conglomerate of good friends and complete strangers. Enduring challenging hill and tempo runs, grueling interval workouts, and Sunday long runs together, they progressed to the point where their efforts showcased Michigan State at the regional and national level. The final piece of the puzzle was put in place last Saturday at Parkview Golf Course. Having to deal with a blazing first mile followed by daunting hills and an incredibly challenging finish, the Spartans held their composure and succeeded to a greater degree than any MSU team to date.
- Colin Riley, 11/22/13
The womens A team prepare for their race. The Spartan women improved upon their national ranking of 8 and placed 7th in the nation, led by All American performances by Steph Schmidt and Alex Dutcher.