The 2023 Kalamazoo College men's cross country team has arrived on campus and begun pre-season workouts, with the season starting at the Aurora Invite on Sept. 9. The Hornets will look to take another step forward this season after finishing sixth at the MIAA Championships in 2022.
Schedule Breakdown
- The Aurora Invite will occur at the Northwestern Medicine XC Course in Geneva, Ill., on Sept. 9.
- Kalamazoo will head back to Illinois on Sept. 16 to run in the Gil Dodds Invitational at the St. James Farm Forest Preserve in Warrenville, Ill., hosted by Wheaton.
- The Hornets will return to Michigan to participate in the Lansing CC Invite on Sept. 22 at Grand Wood Park.
- The next race will occur in Grand Rapids as the Calvin Knight Invite will run on Sept. 29.
- Kalamazoo will participate in the Augustana Interregional Invite again this year as the race takes place at the Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill., on Oct. 14.
- The Hornets will then turn their attention to the MIAA Championships at Three Fires Golf Club in Holland, Mich., on Oct. 28.
- The NCAA DIII Great Lakes Regional meet will run on Nov. 11 at John Carroll University in Akron, Ohio.
Roster Breakdown
- After not running with a senior on the roster last season, Kalamazoo brings back eight of the nine runners from 2022 and will add five new members for 13 total heading into 2023.
- A lone senior will lead the Hornets in Patrick Dunfee, and the team will remain relatively young with four juniors, sophomores, and freshmen each.
Returning Statistical Leaders
- All of the runners coming back ran their personal best in a race last season and will look to keep improving this season.
- The trio of Will Thomas, Noah Eckenroth, and Kyle Ackerson return after consistently being the fastest runners in their first collegiate season. At the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, W. Thomas ran a 26:02, Eckenroth a 27:20, and Ackerson a 27:34.
- Dunfee and Garrick Hohm rounded out the top five for the Hornets as the two had a strong showing at the MIAA Championships, with Dunfee finishing in 28:11 and Hohm in 28:46.
- Caleb Ewald is another runner returning after his first collegiate season, with Keegan Reynolds and Levi Thomas rounding out the list of those returning.
Stepping Up
- The trio of Ewald, Reynolds, and L. Thomas had a good spring season on the track and trained well in the summer as they look to push themselves into the top five.
- Kalamazoo brought in junior transfer Rob Kloosterman from Aquinas College, who will look to make an immediate impact.
- Also looking to make a splash in their first season as a Hornet is Miles Buckley and Gerardo Herrera-Sanchez as they look to strengthen the team from top to bottom.
- Tobin Schiller and Bryce Soisson join the freshmen class and will look to push their teammates for a regular spot in the rotation.
Head Coach Kyle Morrison
Coach Morrison returns for his fifth season as the head coach for the men's and women's cross country programs. He has accumulated six top-five finishes as a head coach, including a second-place finish for the women at the Knight-Raider Invite in 2021. In addition, Coach Morrison has coached two All-MIAA finishers: Rachael Gallap, who did it twice in 2019 and 2021, and Paige Anderson in 2022.
Quoting Coach Morrison
"We graduated nobody from last year's squad, and after improving from eighth to sixth in the MIAA, I think the guys will make another jump this year. Our goals are fourth in the MIAA and the break into the top half of the Great Lakes Region."