Cross Country

McKenzie and Pollmann Compete at Nationals

 

Matt McKenzie

Matt McKenzie and Sarah Pollmann officially finished off the STLCOP cross country season by competing in the 2012 NAIA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 17, in Vancouver, Wash. The two qualified for the national meet at the KIAC Championships on Nov. 7.

 

McKenzie, a second year making his second appearance at nationals, ran a 27:59 in

Sarah Pollmann

the 8K men's race, finishing in 264th place of 309 runners. Pollmann, a first year, was 253rd of 320 women competing in the 5K race and clocked a time of 20:59.

 

"They both ran fantastic," said head coach David Baker. "Matt got to relive the 'nationals' experience and I think
for Sarah, running in her first national race, it made her hungry to go back next year. It was just an awesome
experience."

 

Pollmann, who earned All-Conference honors for her fifth-place finish at the KIAC Championships, became the second-fastest STLCOP female cross country runner this fall by recording a 5K time of 19:49. McKenzie holds the fourth-fastest 8K men's time in STLCOP history at 26:59. 

 

 

 

 

Eutectics Finish Fifth in KIAC
Pollmann and McKenzie Qualify for Nationals

Sarah Pollmann and Matt McKenzie qualified for  the NAIA Nationals at the KIAC Championship meet. Pollman was also named to the All-Conference team.

Both the men's and women's cross country teams finished their seasons with fifth-place finishes (of eight teams) at the KIAC Championships in Richmond, Ind., on Nov. 3. The top Eutectic runners from each team qualified for the NAIA Championships in Vancouver, Wash., on Nov. 17.

First-year Sarah Pollmann led the women's team with a fifth-place finish individually, earning All-Conference honors to go along with her national qualification. Her time was 20:13 in the 5K women's race. "Sarah was running to win," said head coach David Baker. "When she knew she wasn't going to win, it made it harder for her. She was mad, but happy." For the men, second-year Matt McKenzie earned his second trip to nationals with his 12th-place finish in the men's 8K with a time of 28:18. "Matt ran conservatively," Baker said, "I think he was just relieved to qualify."

Berea College dominated the men's race, claiming seven of the top eight places. Coach Baker said he emphasized national qualification to his top four men, who were gunning for those coveted five individual qualification spots. At the three-mile mark, the Euts were looking to finish in second or third place as a team, but seemed to lose steam after that. "We focused so much on qualifying, that once they knew they weren't going to qualify, they let down," Baker said.

STLCOP's Jerrett Marcuson just missed national qualification with his 15th-place finish and time of 28:46.
"Jerrett ran the best race of the day," Baker said. "He ran aggressive and smart." Marcuson was the fifth-fastest freshman in the race. Peter Jaeger was the third Eutectic at 21st place (29:08), while James Lidy (31st, 30:08) and Fred Jaeger (34th, 30:14) completed the Eutectic top five.

On the women's side, Brescia University took the conference team trophy. After Pollman, first-years Jamie
Hundsdorfer and Jenni Shaw were the second and third Euts, finishing in 28th and 29th places (22:15 and 22:30). "Jenni and Jamie both ran good races," Baker said. They were followed by Bethany Chew in 32nd place (23:31) and Amber Crites in 41st (25:34), who rounded out the top five for the Euts.

While Baker was happy for his two national qualifiers, he couldn't quite hide his disappointment in the team
performance. "The course was a solid minute slower than every team's best times of the year. (30 seconds for the women's race)," he said. "But, our performances just didn't quite match up with our home meet."

Eutectics Shatter Season PRs at the St. Louis Fall Classic

First-year Jerrett Marcuson ran a PR at the St. Louis Fall Classic.

The women's team took seventh place at the meet, beating out Stephens College and Missouri Baptist University, and blasting their season PRs by an average of 47 seconds. First-year Sarah Pollmann received an award for her 12th-place finish in the 5K race. Her time of 19:40 was her first-ever finish under 20 minutes and ranks as the 15th fastest time in the STLCOP record books. Pollmann now has the third-fastest time in the KIAC. First-year Jamie Hundsdorfer broke the 22-minute mark for the first time, coming in 33rd for the Euts (21:37) as the team's No. 2 runner. First-year Jenni Shaw followed in 41st place, while second-year Bethany Chew and third-year Amber Crites were 45th and 47th for the Euts. Second-years Mara Hofherr and Lindsy Benedict also ran season PRs for the STLCOP team.

The men's team averaged 1:17 faster than any race so far this season, taking sixth place and outrunning Missouri Baptist University. Second-year Matt McKenzie led the team with an 18th-place finish and a time of 27:39 for the 8K. First-years Jerrett Marcuson and Fred Jaeger each blasted their personal bests by more than a 1:30, finishing as the second and fourth Eutectics. Marcuson was 23rd (27:58) while Jaeger was 32nd (28:40). Second-year James Lidy was the third Eutectic, running his own PR of 28:21 in 30th place. Peter Jaeger rounded out the top-five for the Eutectics in 34th place at 28:42. First-years Paul Bossung and Josh Siu, and second-year Daniel Britt had personal best performances, as well.

The Eutectics will take a week off from competition to prepare for the KIAC championship meet on Nov. 3 in Richmond, Ind.

Eutectics Win Non-Division I Team Title at Evansville

First-years' Jamie Hundsdorfer and Jenni Shaw ran PRs at Evansville.

The Eutectic men's and women's cross country teams captured the first-place trophies in the non-Division I team categoryat the University of Evansville Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 13. The women's team was fifth overall, while the men tied for sixth.

First-year Sarah Pollmann improved her college 5K personal record (PR) by 23 seconds and ran the fastest time by a Eutectic since 2008. Already the second-fastest female in STLCOP history, her time of 20:09 ranks as the 17th-fastest time in the the STLCOP record books. Pollmann led the Lady Euts in 22nd place, while fellow first-years Jenni Shaw and Jamie Hundsdorfer also ran their fastest times of the season, following in 39th and 43rd with times of 22:16 and 22:46. Third-year Amber Crites (24:47) and second-year Bethany Chew (25:40) rounded out the Eutectic top-five in 50th and 53rd place.

In the men's race, second-year Matt McKenzie led the Euts with a 49th-place overall finish in the 8K race with a time of 28:34. Second-year James Lidy was just behind McKenzie in 54th place (29:01). A trio of first-years, running in only the second college 8K race of their careers, filled out the remaining three spots in Eutectic top five. Twins Peter and Fred Jaeger both improved their 8K time significantly. Peter shaved 14 seconds off his previous PR to finish as the third Eutectic in 56th place (29:16), while Fred knocked off one minute and twenty seconds to take 68th place in 30:26 as the Eutectics' number-five runner. Jerrett Marcuson finished between the twins as the fourth STLCOP runner in 64th place (29:48)

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The Eutectics are now gearing up for their home meet this weekend - the last meet before the conference championships. Ten college teams will compete in the St. Louis Fall Cross Country Classic at Centrals Field in Forest Park this Saturday, Oct. 20, at 10 a.m. (women's race) and 11 a.m. (men's race).

Student-athlete Competes in Half Ironman

Yang Pan might claim he’s not talented, but he sure is tough.

On Sunday, Sept. 23, the humble third-year student-athlete completed the Half Ironman 70.3 in six hours, 26 minutes and 15 seconds (6:26:15). The Half Ironman is a triathlon that includes a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile pedal, and 13.1-mile run.

“It was an experience I’ll probably never forget,” says Pan, who runs for the STLCOP men’s cross country team. “I did it on the same date as my 21st birthday.”

Pan, a native of Chesterfield, Mo., started running competitively for the cross country team when he was a freshman at Parkway Central High School. “I was actually really bad,” Pan says with a laugh. “Freshman year of high school, I couldn’t finish a mile. My mile time was like nine or 10 minutes."

By his sophomore year, Pan had increased his stamina and decreased his mile time. He starred for Parkway Central’s cross country team and began running track, as well. He took time off his last two years of high school to concentrate on studies, before he joined the STLCOP men’s cross country team his first year of college.

Although he had been running for years, Pan didn’t become addicted to endurance races until he ran the 2011 Go! St. Louis Half Marathon in the second semester of his first year at STLCOP. “I think that’s where I got hooked,” he says. “It was like a gateway drug, except with endurance sports.”

Pan came back the second semester of his second year and ran the Go! St. Louis Marathon before really stepping up his game with the Half Ironman this semester.

To prepare for the 70.3-mile triathlon, Pan ran 12 to 18 miles through Forest Park almost every Saturday morning during the summer, biked 50-mile plus distances from his parent’s home in Chesterfield, and swam 20 laps at a time at a local gym.

Pan says he only had minor jitters the morning of the race. “I was pretty confident,” he says. He woke up at 5 a.m. to get ready for the race. Pan says it was a cool morning, and there was a chill rolling across Table Rock Lake, where the first leg of the race, a 1.2-mile open water swim, was to be completed.

He had never competed in an open water swim, and he was a little surprised and scared when the race started and all of the competitors in his age division were diving on each other trying to get a good start. “People were jumping on each other; people were getting kicked; it was all cramped up together,” he says. “I lost my breathing pattern and choked four or five times at the beginning. It was a little scary because my heart was beating really fast.” To get his breathing corrected, Pan started swimming the backstroke.

His troubles continued as his goggles fogged up, and he got off course at every other buoy. “I probably added about 400 meters to my 1.2-mile swim,” he says. Pan finished the swim in one hour and 56 seconds (1:00:56) for a division rank of 34th out of 39.

After the swim came a 56-mile bike ride through the hills of the Branson countryside. Pan had heard rumors from race organizers that the Branson bike course was the hardest of all the courses in the Half Ironman series. Riding the course made him a believer. “It was just hills and hills and hills. I was burnt,” he says, explaining that each hill was about one mile straight up and 800 meters down.

Pan says he started the bike race strong, even though his legs were worn out from the open water swim. “The first 10 miles of the ride went by pretty fast, but then it got exponentially slower,” he says. “At mile 20, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I just want to get out of here.’” To stay focused, Pan just thought about the task at hand – finishing the 56-mile pedal. He completed the bike race in three hours, 31 minutes, and 41 seconds (3:31:41), averaging 16 mph, for a division rank of 30th. “Throughout the entire ride, I was just praying for the race to be over,” he says.

By the time he transitioned to the 13.1-mile run around Branson, Pan’s legs were dead and he was mentally drained. “But, as a runner, I told myself I could finish,” he says.  “The first two miles went by OK, but then it got slow. I could manage the distance but was just running out of mental stamina. The last 5K felt like forever.” Pan finished the run in one hour, 48 minutes and six seconds (1:48:06) for a division rank of 23rd. Overall, he finished 25th out of 39 competitors in his division. His overall rank was 386 out of 882.

After the race, Pan says he felt “pretty good.” In his mind, the competition was much more of a mental than physical leap over any of his previous endurance races. He says that anyone with the willpower can complete the Half Ironman. “I think anyone can do it,” he says. “You don’t have to have talent. You just have to want it.

“I do recommend this event for everyone to put on their bucket list,” Pan adds. Next on his bucket list: the Ironman. “It’s double what the Half Ironman is, so it might take about 14 hours,” he says, with a chuckle.

“My parents think I’m pretty crazy.”

Cross Country Teams Tackle Chicago

Sarah Pollmann and James Lidy led the Euts at the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago.

The tight competition spurred first-year Sarah Pollmann to run her fastest college 5K and become the second-fastest woman in STLCOP cross country history, behind legendary alumnus Amy Hall. Pollmann's time of 20:28 is the 20th-fastest time in STLCOP records, just nudging sixth-year and cross country alumus Megan Rogers off the top-twenty list. Pollmann finished 248th of 514 runners. First-year Jenni Shaw was the number-two runner for the Euts, topping her performance from the last meet by over a minute and a half and finishing in 22:31. Fellow-freshman Jamie Hundsdorfer also improved her time significantly (:59) to cross the line at 23:10. Third-year Amber Crites was the number-four runner for the Euts, while second-year Bethany Chew rounded out the top five.

Second-year James Lidy led the men's team in the first 8K distance of the season. His finishing time of 28:52 smashed his personal record by almost a minute, making him the fifth-fastest man in STLCOP history. Lidy was followed by freshmen Jerrett Marcuson (29:28) and Peter Jaeger (29:30), making their collegiate 8K debuts and finishing in 306th and 307th places, respectively. Second-year Matt McKenzie began to feel ill halfway through the race, but managed to finish as the fourth Eut, followed by first-year Fred Jaeger in fifth. Second-year Yang Pan shaved a minute and a half off his PR to be the sixth Eut, while freshmen Paul Bossung, Tyler Thompson, and Josh Siu raced their first-ever collegiate 8Ks for the Eutectics.

The Euts will take the weekend of Fall Break off from competition before heading to the Evansville (Ind.)
Invitational on Oct. 13.

Eutectics Compete at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival

Freshman Sarah Pollmann led the Lady Euts at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival

The men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Forest Park Cross Country Festival on Friday, Sept. 7. The Eutectic women ran their first 5K race of the season, finishing third as a team behind SLU and Greenville College. Freshman Sarah Pollmann was the top finisher for the Eutectics, taking fifth-place overall. Her time of 21:29 for the 5K makes her the sixth-fastest woman in STLCOP cross country history. Fellow-freshmen Jamie Hundsdorfer and Jenni Shaw, running the race side-by-side, took 13th and 14th for the Eutectics. Junior Amber Crites and sophomore Bethany Chew rounded out the Eutectic top five. 

In the men's 6K race, sophomore Matt McKenzie led the Eutectics to a another third-place finish behind SLU and Greenville. Running the same course as the previous week's Washington University Early Bird, McKenzie shaved two seconds from his time and finished in sixth place (21:16) overall. Fellow-sophomore James Lidy was just a minute behind McKenzie in 17th place, while three freshmen, Peter Jaeger (18th), Jerrett Marcuson (20th), and Fred Jaeger (24th) filled out the top-five scoring positions for the Euts.

The STLCOP cross country teams' next race will be the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago on Sept. 29.

Euts Perform Well at Early Bird Meet

Returning 2011 national qualifier Matt McKenzie led the Eutectic men's team.

The STLCOP men's and women's cross country teams took to the soggy Central Fields in Forest Park on Saturday, Sept. 1, for the Washington University Big River Running Early Bird Meet. First-year student-athlete Sarah Pollmann led the Eutectic women to a 16th-place finish in the meet, running the 4K race in 16:52 and finishing 55th of 140 runners. Fellow first-years Jamie Hundsdorfer and Jenni Shaw followed Pollman across the line at 18:18 and 19:10, respectively. Amber Crites, Bethany Chew and Lindsy Benedict rounded out the team.

For the men's team, it was second-year Matt McKenzie, the Euts 2011 Cross Country Nationals qualifier, who crossed the finish line first, taking 52nd of 162 and posting a time of 21:17 for the 6K race. Second-year James Lidy (22:00) and first-year Peter Jaeger (22:06) were less than a minute behind. First-years Jerrett Marcuson, Fred Jaeger, Zach Wainwright, second-year Daniel Britt and third-year veteran Yang Pan helped the Euts outrun the men's team from Missouri Baptist University. 

Both teams will compete again at the Central Fields in Forest Park this Friday, Sept. 8, at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival hosted by Saint Louis University at 4:30 p.m.

2012 STLCOP Cross Country

The Eutectic cross country teams are ready for the start of the new season.

Season Outlook 

The 2012 men’s and women’s Eutectic Cross Country teams are ready for action as the season begins. With no seniors and only two juniors on the entire squad, it will be an inexperienced group that leads the Eutectics this season.

On the men’s side, sophomore Matt McKenzie is as “veteran” as the Euts get. McKenzie is coming off a freshman campaign in which he was the only STLCOP male runner to qualify for the 2011 NAIA National Meet. McKenzie ran a personal best of 26:59 on the Vancouver, Wash., course, becoming the third- fastest Eutectic of all time. His performance was the fastest by a STLCOP runner at a national meet, bettering the record held by two-time indoor All-American David Baker. 

McKenzie should have company in the front of the pack this year. James Lidy returns for his second season of cross country. Lidy, who never ran cross country in high school, had a solid first cross country experience, breaking 30 minutes for 8K, consistently running as the Eut’s number-two runner. With his limited experience, there is hope that Lidy could challenge for a national qualifying spot this fall.

A trio of freshmen looks to round out the Eutectic’s top five. Twins Peter and Fred Jaeger both had success on the high school level. Peter Jaeger ran on his high school’s Illinois state qualifying teams in both cross country and track, including a 1:59 PR in the 800. The Jaegers will be joined by another Illinois state qualifying freshman in Jerrett Marcuson. Marcuson was a top-five runner for Waterloo.

Others battling for a top-seven spot include junior Yang Pan and freshmen Zach Wainwright, Tyler Thompson, Paul Bossung, and Josh Siu.

Head Coach David Baker will return for his 11th season leading the Eutectic cross country teams.

Freshman Sarah Pollmann will likely pace the team this season. Pollmann, an Illinois state qualifier in cross country, enters the season with a 3-mile PR of 18:36. Pollmann should challenge for a qualifying spot in the NAIA national meet in November. Fellow freshmen Jenni Shaw and Jamie Hundsdorfer should also contribute in the Eutectic’s top-five. Both come to the Euts with a lot of experience.

Junior Amber Crites and sophomores Bethany Chew, Mara Hoefherr and Shelby Brown will provide leadership to the team and should fill out the top seven. Chew is the top returner to the Eutectics. Crites, Hoefherr, and Brown each ran in the top seven for the Euts in 2011 and will once again play a big role in the team score.

The men’s and women’s squads kick off the season at the Washington University Early Bird Meet on Sept. 1 in Forest Park, St. Louis.