Alma, MI - Alma College Cross Country opened their season on Friday morning at the CMU Jeff Drenth Invite. Both the men and the women placed 6th of the 7 scoring teams at the event. Both the men and the women ran the 5k course at Shepherd High School in a packed competitive field that included Division I opponents in Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, and Michigan State.
On the women's side, Alma's top finisher was freshman
Lauren Brawt. Brawt burst on to the scene with a 20:02.9 to take home 52nd place overall in her Alma College debut as the team's top finisher. Another freshman was Alma's next finisher, clocking a 21:00.4 to grab 66th place. It was a third rookie who was the next Scot to cross the finish line in the form of
Erica Slocum at 21:29.4 in 69th position. The fourth Alma runner to cross the line was junior
Helena Snyder, who came across in 71st in 21:37.2. Just 3 seconds behind the upperclassmen, was the fourth member of Alma's freshmen class, as
Sophia Sanford rounded out the top 5.
For the men,
Braxton Lamey paced the Scots runners, taking a 43rd place finish with a time of 16:19.6.
Haydin Sims, who had a solid outing at last year's Jeff Drenth Invite, finished in 16:53.0 to grab 55th place. The third Scot to cross the line was
Noah Murphy, the sophomore ran a 17:18.2, good for 60th position.
Nolan Woodman finished in 17:30.5, taking 62nd overall. Rounding out the top 5 for the Scots was
Jacob Campbell. The senior's time of 17:48.0 was enough to place him 64th overall.
Alma had a solid showing on both sides, with plenty to be excited for based on the results that were out there. Head Coach Matt Chovanec was more than pleased with the efforts of his squad. "We ran very well as a group today. Looking at the results compared to where we were in 2022, you can see the improvement, and see that this team has done their work over the Summer. Regardless of how the individual results may look, this team is running now to compete well in October and November when it really counts. A result like this in the opener makes our coaching staff very excited for what this season will bring."
The Scots will be back in action next weekend at the Northwood Invite.
