NMU’s DeBruyn earns GLIAC honor after Rosa Invite win
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Northern Michigan University's Ella DeBruyn leads the field of Wildcat runners and would win by nearly 20 seconds in the NMU Wildcat Open cross country meet held near the Superior Dome and along Lake Superior in Marquette on Aug. 21. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
These spoils instead are a sweet-smelling Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Wildcats junior from Traverse City native earned it on Monday after winning the individual title, her first in college, at the Lucian Rosa Invitational held Saturday on the campus of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Competing at the same course that the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional and Division II national finals were held a year ago, DeBruyn won out in a field of 210 runners on the six-kilometer (3.7-mile) course by crossing the finish line in 22 minutes, 12.84 seconds. That was 2.7 seconds ahead of Cedarville sophomore Caroline Hamilton in 22:15.54.
DeBruyn was in second place at the halfway point before using a 5:58-per-mile pace to move into the lead late in the race, passing the frontrunner down the stretch.
"We had a solid team performance today and Ella ran an awesome race," Northern head coach Jenny Ryan said in NMU Sports Information news releases detailing the meet and also DeBruyn's honor. "She ran very smart, was patient throughout the first four kilometers of the race, and then slowly pulled in the leader, passing her with 400 meters to go for the win."
This was the Wildcats first individual victory at a cross country meet since Madi Szymanski won the Northwood Invite in Midland on Sept. 9, 2023.
Along with senior Lamar Gordon and sophomore Ashley Choponis getting top-10 finishes, DeBruyn led Northern to a runner-up team finish with 66 points, only trailing Cedarville's 38, with 19 schools and running clubs in attendance.
Wayne State was third with 99 points, while also from the GLIAC, Wisconsin-Parkside was eighth, Ferris State 10th and Lake Superior State 12th.
Gordon was fourth in 22:42.64, while Choponis was eighth in 22:51.54. NMU junior and Ishpeming product Lola Korpi was 27th in 23:42.18, while freshman Addison Jones was 30th in 23:47.07.
Senior Dani Van Lente came in 33rd in 23:51.54, while junior Anya VanSweden came in 56th in 24:20.76.
A runner listed as "A. Hamilton" from NMU -- the Wildcats have freshmen Anne Hamilton and Audrey Hamilton on their roster -- was 57th in 24:21.72, while Marquette graduate and Northern sophomore Maija Maki-Warne was 65th in 24:28.98.
Wildcats junior Madalyn Agren was 70th in 24:37.86, while freshman Macy Guikema was 84th in 24:56.64. NMU freshman Tania Boonstra also slipped into the top 100 in 95th in 25:08.73.
Northern has this weekend off before heading to Detroit for the Wayne State-hosted Warrior Challenge at noon on Saturday, Oct. 24.
Story contents based on a pair of Northern Michigan University Sports Information press releases reviewing the meet and the conference honor. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.