'This team is pretty special:' Walsh men's cross country aims for best finish at nationals
NORTH CANTON — Here are some telling facts about the men's cross country team head coach Rob Mizicko has built at Walsh.
Mizicko's best runner this year chose to transfer to Walsh for his extra COVID season. He once was an NCAA Division I runner at Notre Dame.
One of Mizicko's other top runners was a former high school state champion from his own backyard. He could have easily went to a Division I school.
More:One for the thumb: Walsh University men's cross country team wins fifth G-MAC championship
A freshman broke into the Cavaliers' top seven a year after helping his team win an OHSAA state title.
Those are just three examples from the 2022 Cavs, who are in Seattle preparing for Friday's NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. Walsh will be making its fifth appearance at the national meet in the last six seasons. The only year the Cavs didn't advance was 2020 when the meet was canceled due to COVID-19.
"This team is pretty special," Mizicko said. " ... They have had to do a lot of things patiently because (the national meet) is two weeks later this year.
"It's a talented group, yet it's a group that works extremely hard."
The Cavs have just one senior in Friday's race. He has been a guiding force in their run.
Zach Kreft transferred to Walsh after starting his career at Notre Dame. The Sunbury, Ohio, native has won four of his five races, including the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and NCAA Division II Midwest Regional meets. This week he was named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Midwest Region Athlete of the Year.
This season has been everything Kreft hoped for.
"When I entered the transfer portal, I really didn't know where I wanted to go," Kreft said. "I just kind of put my name in the mix. I had a good time at Notre Dame. It was a good experience, but I kind of needed a change of scenery. I wasn't really getting to where I wanted to be as an athlete. I got in touch with Coach Mizicko. I really liked his coaching, his philosophy and what he was doing with Walsh.
"The competition has been really good. It has been kind of what I expected. I knew there would be really good guys in this division. Going into the national meet, I'm really excited to race some of these top-end guys."
Kreft ran a Walsh 8K record 23:14.9 at Lehigh's Paul Short Run. It was the only race he did not win. He still finished eighth at a meet that featured more than 415 runners from NCAA Division I schools.
"Zack is as good as they come as a leader," Mizicko said. "He cares about the team more than he cares about himself. It shows in the way he races.
"Hopefully he'll be in the hunt this weekend."
Nathan Moore being fully healthy this season had a big impact on Walsh's success this season. The 2020 Division I state champion from Lake High School raced at nationals a year ago, but never fully recovered from lower back issues and low iron levels. He eventually redshirted his first college outdoor track and field season.
"I had to be very mentally focused," Moore said. "I had an injury. To get back, you have to be patient and not push the agenda at all. You just have to see yourself getting back to where you were before."
"This summer I just tried to build a big up a big base and stay healthy. I had real consistent training, and it worked out well."
Moore has four top-10 finishes this season. He came in third at the G-MAC meet and seventh at regionals.
"Nathan is running at his highest level," Mizicko said. "This is what we thought he could do when he recruited him."
Freshman Noah Graham, who helped lead Marlington to an OHSAA Division II state title in 2021, finished among the Cavs' top seven at the G-MAC and regional meets. Walsh's Evan Jarold was named the G-MAC Freshman of Year. He came in 10th overall at the conference meet, helping the Cavs to the team title.
Walsh also sent juniors Drew Roberts and Julian Schrock, sophomores Mitchel Dunham, Seth Macura and Drew Monahan and freshman Alex Keller to nationals. The Cavs hope to top their program best-tying 18th-place finish from last season.
"On a really good day, I think we can be in the top eight," Kreft said. "These guys are fit. We just have to have all the pieces together working on the same day."
Max Gucker set to compete for Malone
Malone junior Max Gucker is one of five individuals from the Midwest Region who earned at-large bids to the national meet.
Gucker finished 18th at the regional meet. He ran a personal-best 10,000-meter time of 31:40.59.
Gucker also came in 21st at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships.
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @mpopovichREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Walsh cross country team to compete at 2022 NCAA Division II nationals
