Cross Country racing to finish season
The NMU cross country team will travel to Big Rapids, Mich. to take part in Saturday’s NCAA Great Lakes Regional race. NMU head coach Jenny Ryan said she hopes for better results than the team’s eighth-place finish at the GLIAC meet on Oct. 25. “I just expect that they are going to run one of their best races of the year,” Ryan said. “And I think that we will be able to beat a couple of the teams that beat us in the conference final.” NMU is sending a younger squad to the race with five underclassmen and two juniors. “I think it will be a good preview for the new freshmen to see what Regionals are like so they’re ready to compete in the years ahead at a higher level,” she said. NMU would have to finish at least in the top five to continue on to Nationals later this month. If the Wildcats don’t finish high enough, it will be the end of their season. Leaving the team after the season’s completion are seniors Erin VanEnkevort, Megan Hoklas and Kyle Richards. Ryan said these three seniors, despite not being in the top seven, have been valuable to the team. “What I have to tell them is that, just because these seven are the top seven that are running, doesn’t mean you guys didn’t help get them up there to that level. That is what it takes to have a good program,” she said. The senior leadership will be missed the most, Ryan added. “They have helped transition the team the past couple of years into this new group,” she said. “They have passed on everything they learned. So they’ve been great role models.” The Regional race will start at noon on Saturday and will host 22 teams from the GLIAC and GLVC.
– Gordon Beedle
Basketball Wildcats beaten by one of their own
The NMU men’s basketball team played it’s one and only exhibition game of the season last night against the Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans defeated the ‘Cats with ease 118-57. Tom Izzo, head coach of the Spartans and Northern Michigan alumnus, said in a press conference prior to the game that his team was not going into this match with the same mindset as last year, when the Spartans suffered a preseason loss to Grand Valley State. “We haven’t played very well in our exhibition games the past couple of years,” he said. “We are trying to approach this on a little better level since we did so poor in past.” And the Spartans did just as their coach wanted forcing the ‘Cats in to 30 turnovers and 29 fouls. The fouls and turnovers were not the only problems for the Wildcats as NMU head coach Dean Ellis was ejected from the game for arguing a charging call in the first half. Leading in scoring for the green and white was sophomore guard Durrell Summers with 30 points and junior Raymar Morgan with 19. For the ‘Cats, two new faces picked up the most points. Junior Marc Renelique dropped 24 while redshirt freshman Raymont McElroy had 18. McElroy, along with Jared Benson and Eric Hawley are returning from redshirt seasons last year and Chris Warner was out with a medical redshirt. In his press conference, Izzo mentioned the newcomers on Northern’s squad, too. “It’s never fun to play a team that you don’t know much about,” he said. “[Ellis] thinks he has one of the better shooting games than in the past, because some of these guys have played full college seasons.” The Spartans came into the game ranked No. 6 in the NCAA preseason coaches’ poll. They also come off a sweet 16 performance in the NCAA tournament. NMU is ranked sixth in the GLIAC North media poll. This was the fifth time the two teams have meet since 2000 and MSU has won all of those matches.
– Gordon Beedle
Hockey team ‘assists’ the local community
Northern Michigan University, Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), FSN, Reebok, the Detroit Red Wings, Tim Horton’s and Perani’s Hockey World are hosting “Have Fun, Play Hockey,” a clinic at the Berry Events Center. The free clinic, open to boys and girls ages 5-11, who have not played organized hockey, is set for Thursday, Dec. 11 from 5:45-6:45 p.m. Pre-registration is required. The clinic is limited to the first 50 participants who sign up. All equipment, including skates and a stick, will be provided to participants, who must pre-register for the clinic. Members of the NMU hockey team will assist with the clinic to mentor players on and off the ice. “We are really excited to once again offer the opportunity for boys and girls to experience the fun of hockey for the first time by taking part in a
‘Have Fun, Play Hockey’ clinics,” said CCHA Commissioner Tom Anastos. “Over the first three years of this program, more than 1,500 kids have had a chance to experience the fun of hockey for the very first time and we take great pride in our role facilitating that experience for them. To enter for a chance to be selected for the clinic, fill out a registration form on-line at http://ccha.cstv.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/hockey-is-fun-form-08-09.html or http://webb.nmu.edu/SportsAthletics/Sports/MensHockey/Home.shtml. All forms are due by Dec. 5.
– Sports Information
