Photo courtesy of Lewis Butler
Senior Scott Kallgren, junior Lewis Butler and senior Nick Liversedge start out the race in a pack.
Stephanie Riebe/Collegian
Senior Heidi Johnson finished second for the Charger women’steam and 29th overall in the women’s race. Johnson was a top runner for the team all season.
Photo courtesy of Lewis Butler
Members of the men’s team as well as their track teammates who came to support, huddle together before the Regional race at Ferris State University.
Photo courtesy of Shannon Stanglewicz
The seven women’s team regional runners stand with head coach Bill Lundberg.
The cross country season ended in heartache for both the men’s and women’s teams at Saturday’s Regional meet in Big Rapids, Mich. Despite valiant efforts, both teams fell short of the goal they had set for themselves—finishing in the top four teams of the meet and earning a bid to the NCAA National meet in California.
For the nine seniors between the two teams, the end of the season was especially disappointing.
“When you think you have a shot and you don’t make it, it’s a reality check,” senior women’s co-captain Heidi Johnson said. “It’s weird because most of us have been doing this since eighth grade and now it’s not there anymore.”
In the women’s 6 kilometer race Hillsdale finished seventh out of 22 teams, the fourth GLIAC conference team to place, with a score of 200. The teams qualifying for Nationals were Grand Valley State, Wisconsin Parkside, Southern Indiana and Northern Michigan.
Like she has every meet this season, junior Alissa Hall finished first for the Chargers, placing 12th overall with a time of 22 minutes and 29 seconds and earning all-Regional honors.
“I felt like I was finally able to peak at the right time in the season,” Hall said. “It was a good physical and mental race, pretty much I was focused on it all season.”
Johnson, who has battled numerous injuries to come out on top as one of the women’s most consistent runners, followed in 28th place at 23:05.
Finishing in a 17-second spread were senior co-captain Shannon Stanglewicz (23:45), junior Katie Smith (23:54) and senior Laura Devine (24:02) at 50th, 53rd and 57th place, respectively. Senior Joanna Grille (24:07) and junior Beth Ann Lannen (24:19) finished 63rd and 72nd for the Chargers.
Though she said she was saddened by the end of the season, Johnson said she was pleased at the effort put forth by her team, which has become a family over the past four years.
“Everyone ran their hardest,” she said. “Lots of us came through adversity to be able to make it to where we are. I would rather have been in the race with these girls than any others, even if it would’ve guaranteed me a spot at Nationals.”
For the men’s team—four of whom had a taste of National competition last year—Saturday’s fifth place finish behind Grand Valley State, Wayne State, Southern Indiana and Saginaw Valley was especially disheartening.
“We had higher expectations,” senior co-captain Charles-Michael Berg said. “On paper we ought to have been able to beat them.”
Berg (33:10, 31st place) finished the 10k face second for the Charger men, behind junior Lewis Butler who placed 29th with a time of 33:04. Juniors Peter Sercer (33:18) and Tim Sayers (33:35) and senior co-captain Scott Kallgren (33:56) rounded out the top five runners, followed by junior Alex Schmidtendorff (34:02).
The Chargers were dogged by illness and injury—senior co-captain Nick Liversedge was forced to quit the race due to difficulties with his Achilles tendon, and Kallgren, a returning All-American, was ill prior to and after the weekend meet.
“I wanted to finish top five in the race; I wanted to help the team,” Kallgren said. “I went out hard, but when I started dropping back I couldn’t do it anymore.”
Butler said he knew early in the race the team would probably not earn a bid to Nationals.
“I knew who was in front, and I knew unless something drastic happened we weren’t going to make it, but you can never give up,” he said. “We can’t say we didn’t go for it.”
Head Coach Bill Lundberg said he was pleased with his teams’ efforts.
“We had high hopes, but the region is really difficult,” he said. “Now we’re having to accept [the results], pick up and get ready to move on.”
Lundberg said he counts on the cross country runners to hold their own in long- and middle distance races during indoor and outdoor track while he engages in a busy season of recruiting incoming freshman runners.
The cross country runners said they are looking forward to track season, but will miss cross country, the first love of many.
“It will be the same team, but [the cross country season] was the last time we’re all together doing the same workout and running the same race,” Berg said. “During track we’re spread all over in a kaleidoscope of events.”
For both the men’s and women’s teams the bond has become almost more important than winning meets and titles, and will carry on after their careers.
“My team has been my family the last four years, and I am really proud of all of them, the ones here now and the ones who have graduated,” Stanglewicz said. “They mean more to me then any conference championship or regional berth, they have shaped me into who I am today. And they can all tell you the same.”