Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, September 2
Kalamazoo, Mich.
6 P.M.
Eastern Michigan University
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George Dales Invitational
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Women's Cross Country Runs Away with Season Opener
9/2/2016 10:30:00 PM | Women's XC
The Eagles defeated Western Michigan by a large margin in Kalamazoo
Complete Results
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's cross country team opened its season today, Sept. 2, with a commanding victory at the George Dales Invitational in Kalamazoo, Mich. Behind a sweep of the top-four spots, the Eagles won the meet with a total of 16 points, while host Western Michigan finished second with 45 points.
As a team, Eastern claimed the top-four spots, along with seven of the top-10. Additionally, the Eagles averaged a finish time of 17:42.10, which was more than a minute quicker than the Broncos' average of 18:59.09.
"It was a solid opener for us," remarked EMU Head Coach Sue Parks. "We still have a lot of things to work on, but this is a good starting point."
Delving into the individual performances of the EMU harriers, Parks elaborated "Jordann McDermitt had an impressive solo effort. The hard work she put in this summer has really paid off. It was also great to see Natalie Cizmas run such a strong race for her first time in uniform in cross country."
The Eagles were paced by two-time All-MAC selection junior Jordann McDermitt (Davison, Mich. – Davison), who dominated the field, crossing the finish line in 16:57.27, which was nearly thirty seconds better than the second-place finisher. It also marked the first time that she posted a mark of less than 17 minutes, as her previous 5K best was 17:03. Just behind her in second, redshirt sophomore Natalie Cizmas (Clinton Twp., Mich. – Chippewa Valley) had a fantastic cross country debut, clocking in at 17:24.57, which was also nearly thirty seconds quicker than the next finisher. Rounding out the top three was 2015 MAC Champion senior Alsu Bogdanova (Kazan, Russia – Lyceum #83), who posted a time of 17:53.55 to claim the bronze.
In just her second race donning the Green and White, junior Jenna Wyns (Londerzeel, Belgium – Sportschol KA2) brought home a fourth-place finish, crossing the finish line in 18:03.92. Also turning in top-10 finishes were junior Danielle Bentzley (Birmingham, Mich. – Seaholm), who took sixth in 18:11.19, sophomore Sydney Meyers (Zionsville, Ind. – Zionsville Community), the seventh-place finisher in 18:20.54, and finally redshirt junior Anna Aldrich (Fremont, Ind. – Fremont) in 10th with a time of 18:54.45.
The race also marked the first time that freshman Abbigail Stemple (Mason, Ohio – William Mason) donned the Green and White, as she finished 21st with a time of 20:26.89.
Looking forward, Parks hopes to see her team consistently improve, stating "From this point on, we just want to try to get better with every workout and every meet."
The Eagles keep rolling next week, heading to Northville, Mich. for the Detroit Titan Invitational, Sept. 10.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's cross country team opened its season today, Sept. 2, with a commanding victory at the George Dales Invitational in Kalamazoo, Mich. Behind a sweep of the top-four spots, the Eagles won the meet with a total of 16 points, while host Western Michigan finished second with 45 points.
As a team, Eastern claimed the top-four spots, along with seven of the top-10. Additionally, the Eagles averaged a finish time of 17:42.10, which was more than a minute quicker than the Broncos' average of 18:59.09.
"It was a solid opener for us," remarked EMU Head Coach Sue Parks. "We still have a lot of things to work on, but this is a good starting point."
Delving into the individual performances of the EMU harriers, Parks elaborated "Jordann McDermitt had an impressive solo effort. The hard work she put in this summer has really paid off. It was also great to see Natalie Cizmas run such a strong race for her first time in uniform in cross country."
The Eagles were paced by two-time All-MAC selection junior Jordann McDermitt (Davison, Mich. – Davison), who dominated the field, crossing the finish line in 16:57.27, which was nearly thirty seconds better than the second-place finisher. It also marked the first time that she posted a mark of less than 17 minutes, as her previous 5K best was 17:03. Just behind her in second, redshirt sophomore Natalie Cizmas (Clinton Twp., Mich. – Chippewa Valley) had a fantastic cross country debut, clocking in at 17:24.57, which was also nearly thirty seconds quicker than the next finisher. Rounding out the top three was 2015 MAC Champion senior Alsu Bogdanova (Kazan, Russia – Lyceum #83), who posted a time of 17:53.55 to claim the bronze.
In just her second race donning the Green and White, junior Jenna Wyns (Londerzeel, Belgium – Sportschol KA2) brought home a fourth-place finish, crossing the finish line in 18:03.92. Also turning in top-10 finishes were junior Danielle Bentzley (Birmingham, Mich. – Seaholm), who took sixth in 18:11.19, sophomore Sydney Meyers (Zionsville, Ind. – Zionsville Community), the seventh-place finisher in 18:20.54, and finally redshirt junior Anna Aldrich (Fremont, Ind. – Fremont) in 10th with a time of 18:54.45.
The race also marked the first time that freshman Abbigail Stemple (Mason, Ohio – William Mason) donned the Green and White, as she finished 21st with a time of 20:26.89.
Looking forward, Parks hopes to see her team consistently improve, stating "From this point on, we just want to try to get better with every workout and every meet."
The Eagles keep rolling next week, heading to Northville, Mich. for the Detroit Titan Invitational, Sept. 10.
Team Results
1. Eastern Michigan 16 pts
2. Western Michigan 45 pts
EMU Individual Results
1. Jordann McDermitt 16:57.27
2. Natalie Cizmas 17:24.57
3. Alsu Bogdanova 17:53.55
4. Jenna Wyns 18:03.92
6. Danielle Bentzley 18:11.19
7. Sydney Meyers 18:20.54
10. Anna Aldrich 18:54.45
11. Rebekah Branham 18:56.87
12. Claire Mesa 19:30.97
15. Allie Knoll 19:44.53
16. Leah Wallace 19:59.47
21. Abbigail Stemple 20:26.89
25. Lauren Pottschmidt 21:30.35
Players Mentioned
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
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