BLOG 10: Stuart has waited a long time to run regionals at home again

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State’s Mikinzie Stuart has been waiting a long time for the opportunity to run in regionals again at Katke Golf Course (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – Mikinzie Stuart has had Saturday (Nov. 8, 2008) in the back of her mind and penciled in her daily planner for a long, long time.

The Bulldogs’ senior runner from Saginaw is looking at this weekend’s 2008 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships at Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids as the biggest meet of a college career that today is in its twilight stage.

“I’m really excited about having the regional meet coming back to Ferris for my senior year,” said Stuart, who earned 2008 All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Second Team honors after placing eighth in 22:14.5 as the Bulldog women finished third as a team at Tanglewood Marsh Golf Course in Sault Ste. Marie (Oct. 25). “My freshman year we had the regional meet here and I ran in it and I have been excited about it coming back and I am looking forward to finishing my cross country career on a good note with a good race here in regionals.”

Stuart will not be living and enjoying this experience alone. She and her Bulldog teammates have been hard at work gearing up for the regional championships. In that regional, Ferris will have to face some of the nation’s best competition. Stuart, however, is supremely confident she and her teammates are ready to give it their best on Saturday.

“I love my teammates,” said Stuart, who is one of two seniors on the team (Jackie Green, a native of Portage, is the other). “We have a good team this year and just a good group of girls who have a lot of fun. We’ve become such a close-knit team.”

As a freshman, during the 2005 NCAA Division II Midwest Region Cross Country Championships, Stuart earned all-region honors as she placed 11th in 22:27.9. The all-region honors were awarded to the top 15 finishers as Stuart turned in one of the better performances of her career that afternoon.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m so excited to have this opportunity to come back and have the regional meet again,” said Stuart, whose team has been ranked as high as 19th nationally and has been a fixture in the regional rankings most of the season. “We all put in a lot of work during the summer to get ready and we’re reenergized. Steve (Picucci, who is the new interim coach of the team) has done a great job with our workouts and we’re all feeling good coming down to the end of the season. We’re ready to go and we’re looking forward to running this race at home.”

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com