Men's Scores Men's Individual Results Women's Scores Women's Individual Results
New UW-Parkside cross country coach Micah VanDenend kicked off his Ranger career at the 22nd annual Midwest Open, held on Parkside's Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course on a rainy Saturday morning in Somers.
“I had butterflies in my stomach getting out here today,” admitted VanDenend after the races. “I was very excited, but now the first meet is over and we'll move on from here.”
NCAA Division III UW-Oshkosh won the women's 5K team title with a low score of 26, while NCAA Division I Loyola championed the men's 8K race with a total of 31, followed by fellow Division I UW-Milwaukee at 40.
“Our men fought the whole way and were only beaten by two Division I teams,” said VanDenend, who once starred at the Big Ten's Iowa.
The UW-Parkside women's team was runner up with a score of 51, a safe distance ahead of third place Loyola, 80. The Ranger men were third with 66 points.
UW-Parkside's Ben Orvold easily won the men's race in a time of 25:11. He was 33 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Scott Mueller, an open runner. Other Ranger scorers include Rehan Mahmood, 11th, 26:38; Alex Mena, 19th, 26:56; Matt Vidas, 42nd, 27:29; and Phil Simac, 54th, 28:09.
“Ben was awesome,” cited VanDenend. “Right from the start, he had a 50-meter lead after 1K and looked smooth and consistent throughout. This is a testament to the hard work he has put in.”
Elise Sigg of UW-Milwaukee led throughout the women's race and was clocked in 17:49. Christina Cazzola of UW-Oshkosh was next best in 18:07.
Hope Christie led the UW-Parkside charge with a fourth place overall finish in 18:22. Other Ranger scorers were Heidi Ertl, eighth, 19:07; Whitney Olson, 13th, 19:48; Jessica Watychowicz, 15th, 19:55; and Chelsea Tribble, 16th, 19:55.
“The women are slim on numbers (seven healthy) and we needed each one to pull their weight and they did that and more,” said VanDenend. “They exceeded my expectations.”
Next up for the Runnin' Rangers is the Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota, Saturday, Sept. 25.
