For the Michigan Tech Cross Country Team, this home invitational meet was more than a typical race. It was an opportunity to earn a place on the postseason roster.
The team closed their regular season on Oct. 30 at the Tech Trails, with athletes competing for spots at the upcoming Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships. Senior Bridget Burns won the women’s 6-kilometer race in 23 minutes, 24 seconds, while Luke Pravecek finished fourth overall in the men’s 8-kilometer race in 26 minutes, 6 seconds.
Head Coach Robert Young said the meet gave runners an opportunity to demonstrate how they respond when something meaningful is at stake. It also gave younger athletes a chance to gain experience running college race distances and executing a race plan. “Watching them run, I’m happy with what I saw from a competitiveness and effort standpoint today,” Young said.
Young emphasized that the difficulty of the home course meant finishing times would not necessarily reflect the quality of each performance. For Burns, a fourth-year environmental engineering student, her goal was to earn a place on the GLIAC roster and win. She accomplished both, describing the victory as her first college cross country win.
Burns credited running alongside Senior teammate Claire Endres for helping her maintain her effort. The two of them took turns leading and encouraging each other. “It means a lot to be able to run with them,” Burns said. “I care about them a lot.” Despite sprinting through the finish being painful, Burns said one of her favorite moments was turning around to cheer for her teammates.
Brady Hager, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student, also left the meet with an opportunity. Hager said he earned the final available championship roster spot after working with a teammate on pacing. “Representing the team at a championship meet is completely different than, I guess, the regular season meets. It’s something I didn’t really see coming. I’m definitely just grateful for it.” Hager said.
Looking back on the season, Hager highlighted that staying healthy was an accomplishment. Young also noted health and consistent training as recurring challenges. He praised the team’s growth in responding to individual setbacks. Still, Young said the defining stretch of the season lies ahead. “We do a lot of training and a lot of preparation to set the table for what lies just in front of us,” he said.
Michigan Tech begins its postseason Nov. 6 at the GLIAC Championships in Hammond, IN. Young’s message to fellow Tech students was, “Be proud of these guys. They work hard, and they work hard to represent the university well.”