Northwest Wayne News

The Wayne State University men's cross country team secured fifth place in the 2024 GLIAC Championships held at Ferris State. Competing against nine other teams, the Warriors demonstrated resilience and teamwork.

Five runners contributed to the team's points. Tyler Buchanan from Fenton, Michigan, was the first among his teammates to finish with a time of 25:16.50, earning him second-team All-GLIAC honors. Sean Pettis followed closely with a time of 25:28. Carson Nicoletti finished at 25:42.20, while Brady Heron and Jared Platt completed their races with times of 25:53.10 and 25:56.90, respectively.

Additional competitors for Wayne State included Tyler Brothers (26:03), Ty Nagy (26:08.50), Griffin Conway (26:14.10), Gabe Trevino (26:29.60), Adam Hafeli (26:31.80), Andrew Yax (26:39), and Anthony Vinson (27:15.90).

Head Coach Grant Lofdahl commented on the performance saying, "Our men put a great effort out there today, but ultimately we came up a little bit short of our goals." He highlighted that half of the participants were new to the GLIAC championship race and praised their perseverance.

Lofdahl noted Buchanan's achievement despite not having his best day, acknowledging his third All-GLIAC honor as significant. He also praised Pettis for being the top true freshman in the conference and recognized Nicoletti and Heron's determination during the latter part of their races.

Particularly noteworthy was Jared Platt's performance; he lost a shoe early in the race yet managed to complete it successfully.

Looking ahead, Lofdahl stated, "We will refocus and be well prepared to go out there execute our best race of the season at regionals."

The team is preparing for their next challenge at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship scheduled for Saturday, November 9.