Eastern Michigan Athletics
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Best Regional Finish Since 2000 Highlights WXC Season
12/17/2012 2:09:00 PM | Women's XC
First-team All-MAC honoree Voronko led Eagles in 2012
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's cross country team improved throughout the season with a victory at the George Dales Invitational and concluded with its best finish (11th) at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional since 2000.
“We started the season short-handed with some people out of the lineup for various reasons,” noted head coach Sue Parks. “After a slow start, things began coming together by mid-season.”
Victoria Voronko led the Eagles as the team's top runner all season long with a sensational sophomore campaign that included a fifth place finish at the MAC Championship, earning her All-MAC First Team honors.
The Eagles opened their 2012 women's cross country campaign with a third place team finish at the Mel Brodt Invitational, Aug. 31, hosted by Bowling Green State University. EMU finished third in the team competition with 72 points, just narrowly missing out on second place, which went to Bowling Green with 71. Toledo took home the title with 19 points. For the Eagles, Voronko was the top finisher taking second overall and turning in a time of 18:23.00. Junior Kayla Pfund also finished in the top ten taking eighth overall with a 19:01.80.
The team tied for first in its next meet at the three team George Dales Invitational, Sept. 7. Voronko took the individual title for the second consecutive year as she turned in a first place time of 21:55.72, almost 15 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Behind Voronko, Pfund, Rachel Quaintance and Morgan Churchwell finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Following the win, EMU faced a tough three-meet stretch that included some of the top teams and runners in the nation. At the Toledo Bubble Buster, Sept. 21, the Eagles' 13th-place finish came against a tough field of competitors as four were nationally ranked in the top-25, and all 13 were ranked in their respective regions. EMU then took fourth place with a team score of 134 at the 57th running of the Notre Dame Invitational as Vononko's third place individual finish paced the Eagles, Sept. 28. To conclude the brutal gauntlet, Eastern participated in the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet hosted by the University of Louisville, Oct. 13. EMU took 30th in the event as No. 1 Florida State won the team title with a score of 72 points.
On Oct. 19, the Eagles hosted runners for the EMU Classic, a non-team scoring event. Four Eagles ran for EMU on the evening, with Cara Smock being the top finisher with a time of 19:12.9 for 27th place. Amy Frauhammer, Lauren Lunsford and Brooke Sciullo finished 33rd, 49th and 59th respectively.
One week later, Eastern Michigan turned in a fifth-place performance for the second consecutive year at the MAC Championships, Oct. 27. The Eagles finished with the top-five runners turning in a combined team score of 144. “We were hoping for a better performance at the MAC meet but it just didn't fall our way on that day,” noted Coach Parks.
Individually, Voronko led the way for the Eagles turning in a fifth place finish with a time of 21:47.7. The fifth place finish also marked the second consecutive year that she has earned All-MAC First Team honors, having finished fourth a year ago. Her two MAC performances sealed the best back-to-back Championship performances since 1999 and 2000 when Domtilla Mwei finished as the runner-up both years.
Pfund finished 19th overall with 22:16.2 in her first MAC Championship. Rounding out the top five scorers for the Eagles were Churchwell, Rachel Quaintance and Smock, as they finished 35th, 35th and 51st respectively. Sophomore Marina Manjon Rivadulla and freshman Rebecca Quaintance also competed for the Green and White. Nationally ranked No. 20 Toledo won the team title for the third consecutive year, as the Rockets placed all five of their top scorers in the top 10 to give UT a winning tally of 24 points.
In the final home meet and non-scoring team event of the season, Manjon-Rivadulla led all Eagles with a third place finish and a time of 18:38.0 at the EMU Open, Nov. 1. Rounding out the Eagle runners were Rebecca Quaintance, Frauhammer and Lunsford, as they finished seventh, 14th and 15th respectively.
The Eagles ended the 2012 campaign with an impressive finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by the University of Wisconsin, Nov. 9. EMU was once again led by Voronko who finished 54th overall out of a field of 218 runners with a time of 21:37. In her final meet as an Eagle, Churchwell finished just one second behind Voronko in 56th place individually, running the 6K course in 21:38. The 11th place finish notched the best regional finish since the Eagles took ninth in the 2000 Great Lakes Regional. Also, the Green and White topped Central Michigan and Ohio who finished higher than Eastern at the MAC Championship. “Following the performance at the MAC Championship, I was pleased that we were able to regroup and finish the season with our best performance of the year at the regional meet,” commented Coach Parks.
The closing of the 2012 women's cross country season also means that five Eagles end their EMU cross country careers: Courtney Calka, Morgan Churchwell, Tiffany Kincaid, Lauren Lunsford and Rachel Quaintance.
Calka finishes her career as a two-time All-MAC runner, pacing the Eagles in every race her first two years on campus. The Livonia, Mich. native shined in the classroom as well, earning her spots on the Academic All-MAC team and the USTFCCCA All-Academic team twice as well as the 2010-11 Capital One Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-District IV second team. In her sophomore season, Calka was selected as the MAC Runner of the Week, Oct. 13, after winning the Michigan Intercollegiate with a personal best 17:16.0 finish. She was named the team's Most Valuable Runner her freshman year along with being awarded All-Region accolades.
Churchwell concluded her career by scoring in every meet her senior year including a season best sixth place finish at the George Dales Invitational. During her junior season, she was named MAC Runner of the Week in September after earning her first collegiate win at the Toledo Rocket Open with a first place, 18:02.40 effort. She also competed in six races each of her first two seasons for the Green and White.
An Academic All-MAC selection a year ago, Kincaid raced in 22 meets while at Eastern. In her junior season, she placed in the middle of a highly competitive, 262-participant field with her 18:58.45 effort at the Greater Louisville Classic along with taking eighth at the George Dales Invitational with a 23:31.4 finish to help the Green and White to a first-place team finish.
Lunsford ends her EMU career as well. The Miamisburg, Ohio native competed in 14 events while wearing green and white. While competing in multiple MAC Championships, her best finish came with a 15th place finish at this year's EMU Open with a time of 20:35.4.
The older of the two sisters on this year's squad, Rachel Quaintance placed in every meet for the EMU this season, her last as an Eagle. The two-time Academic All-MAC selection contributed throughout her career by running in seven meets each season at Eastern. Quaintance finished a season-best fifth place at this year's George Dales Invitational with a time of 22:58.9; her fourth-place individual finish helped the Eagles to a first-place team finish at the same meet a season ago.
EMU Letter Winners
Morgan Churchwell - Fourth Year
Rachel Quaintance - Fourth Year
Lauren Lunsford - Second Year
Cara Smock - Second Year
Victoria Voronko - Second Year
Amy Frauhammer - First Year
Marina Manjon Rivadulla - First Year
Kayla Pfund - First Year
Rebecca Quaintance - First Year
“We started the season short-handed with some people out of the lineup for various reasons,” noted head coach Sue Parks. “After a slow start, things began coming together by mid-season.”
Victoria Voronko led the Eagles as the team's top runner all season long with a sensational sophomore campaign that included a fifth place finish at the MAC Championship, earning her All-MAC First Team honors.
The Eagles opened their 2012 women's cross country campaign with a third place team finish at the Mel Brodt Invitational, Aug. 31, hosted by Bowling Green State University. EMU finished third in the team competition with 72 points, just narrowly missing out on second place, which went to Bowling Green with 71. Toledo took home the title with 19 points. For the Eagles, Voronko was the top finisher taking second overall and turning in a time of 18:23.00. Junior Kayla Pfund also finished in the top ten taking eighth overall with a 19:01.80.
The team tied for first in its next meet at the three team George Dales Invitational, Sept. 7. Voronko took the individual title for the second consecutive year as she turned in a first place time of 21:55.72, almost 15 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Behind Voronko, Pfund, Rachel Quaintance and Morgan Churchwell finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Following the win, EMU faced a tough three-meet stretch that included some of the top teams and runners in the nation. At the Toledo Bubble Buster, Sept. 21, the Eagles' 13th-place finish came against a tough field of competitors as four were nationally ranked in the top-25, and all 13 were ranked in their respective regions. EMU then took fourth place with a team score of 134 at the 57th running of the Notre Dame Invitational as Vononko's third place individual finish paced the Eagles, Sept. 28. To conclude the brutal gauntlet, Eastern participated in the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet hosted by the University of Louisville, Oct. 13. EMU took 30th in the event as No. 1 Florida State won the team title with a score of 72 points.
On Oct. 19, the Eagles hosted runners for the EMU Classic, a non-team scoring event. Four Eagles ran for EMU on the evening, with Cara Smock being the top finisher with a time of 19:12.9 for 27th place. Amy Frauhammer, Lauren Lunsford and Brooke Sciullo finished 33rd, 49th and 59th respectively.
One week later, Eastern Michigan turned in a fifth-place performance for the second consecutive year at the MAC Championships, Oct. 27. The Eagles finished with the top-five runners turning in a combined team score of 144. “We were hoping for a better performance at the MAC meet but it just didn't fall our way on that day,” noted Coach Parks.
Individually, Voronko led the way for the Eagles turning in a fifth place finish with a time of 21:47.7. The fifth place finish also marked the second consecutive year that she has earned All-MAC First Team honors, having finished fourth a year ago. Her two MAC performances sealed the best back-to-back Championship performances since 1999 and 2000 when Domtilla Mwei finished as the runner-up both years.
Pfund finished 19th overall with 22:16.2 in her first MAC Championship. Rounding out the top five scorers for the Eagles were Churchwell, Rachel Quaintance and Smock, as they finished 35th, 35th and 51st respectively. Sophomore Marina Manjon Rivadulla and freshman Rebecca Quaintance also competed for the Green and White. Nationally ranked No. 20 Toledo won the team title for the third consecutive year, as the Rockets placed all five of their top scorers in the top 10 to give UT a winning tally of 24 points.
In the final home meet and non-scoring team event of the season, Manjon-Rivadulla led all Eagles with a third place finish and a time of 18:38.0 at the EMU Open, Nov. 1. Rounding out the Eagle runners were Rebecca Quaintance, Frauhammer and Lunsford, as they finished seventh, 14th and 15th respectively.
The Eagles ended the 2012 campaign with an impressive finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by the University of Wisconsin, Nov. 9. EMU was once again led by Voronko who finished 54th overall out of a field of 218 runners with a time of 21:37. In her final meet as an Eagle, Churchwell finished just one second behind Voronko in 56th place individually, running the 6K course in 21:38. The 11th place finish notched the best regional finish since the Eagles took ninth in the 2000 Great Lakes Regional. Also, the Green and White topped Central Michigan and Ohio who finished higher than Eastern at the MAC Championship. “Following the performance at the MAC Championship, I was pleased that we were able to regroup and finish the season with our best performance of the year at the regional meet,” commented Coach Parks.
The closing of the 2012 women's cross country season also means that five Eagles end their EMU cross country careers: Courtney Calka, Morgan Churchwell, Tiffany Kincaid, Lauren Lunsford and Rachel Quaintance.
Calka finishes her career as a two-time All-MAC runner, pacing the Eagles in every race her first two years on campus. The Livonia, Mich. native shined in the classroom as well, earning her spots on the Academic All-MAC team and the USTFCCCA All-Academic team twice as well as the 2010-11 Capital One Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-District IV second team. In her sophomore season, Calka was selected as the MAC Runner of the Week, Oct. 13, after winning the Michigan Intercollegiate with a personal best 17:16.0 finish. She was named the team's Most Valuable Runner her freshman year along with being awarded All-Region accolades.
Churchwell concluded her career by scoring in every meet her senior year including a season best sixth place finish at the George Dales Invitational. During her junior season, she was named MAC Runner of the Week in September after earning her first collegiate win at the Toledo Rocket Open with a first place, 18:02.40 effort. She also competed in six races each of her first two seasons for the Green and White.
An Academic All-MAC selection a year ago, Kincaid raced in 22 meets while at Eastern. In her junior season, she placed in the middle of a highly competitive, 262-participant field with her 18:58.45 effort at the Greater Louisville Classic along with taking eighth at the George Dales Invitational with a 23:31.4 finish to help the Green and White to a first-place team finish.
Lunsford ends her EMU career as well. The Miamisburg, Ohio native competed in 14 events while wearing green and white. While competing in multiple MAC Championships, her best finish came with a 15th place finish at this year's EMU Open with a time of 20:35.4.
The older of the two sisters on this year's squad, Rachel Quaintance placed in every meet for the EMU this season, her last as an Eagle. The two-time Academic All-MAC selection contributed throughout her career by running in seven meets each season at Eastern. Quaintance finished a season-best fifth place at this year's George Dales Invitational with a time of 22:58.9; her fourth-place individual finish helped the Eagles to a first-place team finish at the same meet a season ago.
EMU Letter Winners
Morgan Churchwell - Fourth Year
Rachel Quaintance - Fourth Year
Lauren Lunsford - Second Year
Cara Smock - Second Year
Victoria Voronko - Second Year
Amy Frauhammer - First Year
Marina Manjon Rivadulla - First Year
Kayla Pfund - First Year
Rebecca Quaintance - First Year
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