Firebirds gear up for first-ever home meet

ROSCOMMON – Kirtland Community College’s cross country program will soon make history. In fact, Firebird fans can already mark the date on their calendars.

Kirtland will host its first-ever home cross country meeting at the college’s main campus near Roscommon when the college hosts the inaugural Firebird Invitational on Friday, Sept. 25. The womens race will start at 3 p.m., with the mens race starting shortly after the conclusion of the first event.

“This will be a very exciting day for our cross country program,” said Kirtland athletic director Doug Ryckman. “It shows how far we’ve come, as we look to become a serious contender within the Michigan Community College Athletic Association.”

The course was laid out by first-year coaching tandem of Don Haskin of Fairview and Samara Sabin of Grayling.

“They’ve put a tremendous amount of work into getting ready for this season and for the upcoming home meet, as well as already recruiting runners for next year.” Ryckman added. “It will be fun to see all their hard work pay off as we welcome other schools to our campus.”

But, the Firebirds can’t look too far ahead. Kirtland runners are scheduled to travel to Big Rapids on Friday, Sept. 18, for the Bulldog Invitational hosted by Ferris State University.

Kirtland runners opened their 2009 season Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Golden Grizzly Open at Oakland University.

Freshman Noelle Mester (West Branch/Ogemaw Heights) led the Lady Firebirds by placing 32nd overall in the womens 5K event in a time of 21 minutes, 18 seconds. Oakland University’s Kelsey Carmean won the race in 18:20, more than a minute and a half ahead of runner-up Kelly Noren (Oakland Community College).

“We ran a good race at Oakland for our season-opener,” Sabin said. “The girls are still working on how to pace themselves for the 5K distance. We easily have the endurance, but now the girls are seriously focusing on their speed.”

Other runners finishing for Kirtland in the womens race Sept. 5 included: freshman Hailey McMahon (Grayling; 59th, 25:29), freshman Christina Leinmuller (Germany; 61st, 25:45), sophomore Heather Villarreal (Alger/Ogemaw Heights; 62nd, 25:46), freshman Aleigh Kappen (Cass City; 65th, 28:10) and sophomore Jo’ell Cruse (Inland Lakes; 66th, 28:38).

“They all have created goals for the next meet and are working very hard to meet those goals,” Sabin added. “Our team spirit is high, and I can already tell that the girls will continuously get faster as they experience more college-level competition.”

In the mens 6K event, a member of the host school again took top honors when Oakland University’s Zack Jones crossed the finish line in 18:38. Freshman Emanuel Ortega (Saginaw Swan Valley; 36th, 21:10) was the first Kirtland runner to complete the event.

Also finishing for the Firebirds were: sophomore Chase Schepke (Roscommon; 55th, 22:41), freshman Chris Klabfleisch (Hale; 58th, 23:04), sophomore Tim LaForce (West Branch/Ogemaw Heights; 67th, 23:55), sophomore Mike Morris (West Branch/Ogemaw Heights; 68th, 24:11) and sophomore Barry Paquet (Mackinaw; 70th, 24:28).

“I saw some real positive things,” Haskin said of his team’s performance at the Golden Grizzly Open. “I also saw a lot of things we need to work on, which is typical for a first meet of the year.

“The key was we saw more good than bad,” he added.

Results of all MCCAA cross country events may be found online at www.mccaa.org. For more information on Kirtland athletics, visit online at firebirds.kirtland.edu or call 989-275-5000, extension 385.