Lake Superior State raced at Saturday's Warrior Challenge, hosted by Wayne State in southeast Michigan, in the final race before the GLIAC Championships.
Noel Black finished with a time of 22:47.8, while
Lilly Binger broke 24:00 for the first time in her collegiate 6K career with a final time of 23:55.6.
"It was a great day for us," said Laker Head Coach
Matt Stith. "The women's team was at full strength, really for the first time all year. We executed a good race. We felt like this was an excellent day. We're looking forward to what this points us toward in the next few weeks."
He pointed to the success of Binger as an important progression point for the second year runner. "That's a nice milestone as she continues to develop as a runner, especially as somebody who came to the sport a little bit later. She's going to continue to grow and improve. It was a really great day for her."
Black continues to lead the Lakers pack, taking ninth at the meet. She's finished in the top 10 in all three of her races this season - the Northwood Invitational, Adrian College Classic and now the Warrior Challenge.
"Noel ran a really good race," Stith said. "The course is unique in that it's a series of repeating loops. So that gave us the opportunity to work on some tactical things. We were really pleased with how she approached the race. It gives us some good bases to fine tune things and get ready to peak in two weeks at the GLIAC Championships."
Gavin Guggemos led the Laker men's team, finishing 41st with a time of 26:49.3. The Lakers head coach pointed out that as the calendar turns, Guggemos thrives. A late-season beast, the third year runner is poised for an excellent finish to the season.
"Talking to Gavin after the race, we agreed he's in a good position right now. He's always been one who thrives as the weather gets cooler. We're kind of hoping for a little more temperature decrease in the next two to four weeks. He's very fit and very strong. We're happy with how he ran a solid middle of the race and really strong last two kilometers."
The GLIAC Championships await the Lakers in two weeks in Westville, IN, followed by the NCAA Regionals in Kenosha, WI on November 21st. The fact of the matter is that every race in the cross country season is a buildup to these two - and potentially three - races.
"I think we're positioned to hit the goals we have as a team at GLIACs and hopefully exceed some of the expectations people had outside of the program," Stith said. "I'm looking forward to it."
