Yanni Supplied by Lake Superior State University…
SAULT STE. MARIE – As the Chris Yanni Memorial Invitational enters its third year, the Lake Superior State cross country program gains deeper appreciation for the sense of tradition that the Yanni name lends the Lakers.
The Yanni Invitational is named after Chris Yanni, the former LSSU all-region standout from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, who was killed in a cycling accident in 1992. He is among the University’s most-decorated distance runners, and his brother, Steve, was the Lakers’ cross country coach during that era. This year’s race is Saturday at The Oaks Golf Course in Kincheloe. The men’s 8K begins at 10 a.m., and the women’s 5K follows at 11 a.m.
“Naming the meet after Chris was the brainchild of our former assistant coach, Grant Lofdahl,” LSSU cross country/track and field coach Jason Davis said. “Chris was a big part of our program in his time here and brought a lot of exposure to our program. His family bleeds Laker blue, so naming the meet after him was a no-brainer. Our current athletes love hearing about the Lakers of the past, and Chris really exemplified what it was like to be part of something special here at LSSU. Hopefully, we grow this meet into something that every program wants to be a part of.”
Alma, St. Norbert, Soo College and Northern Michigan are expected to compete with the Lakers on the hilly course. It’s the Lakers’ only home cross country meet of the season.
“Our programs don’t have many home events, so hosting something in front of the home crowd is a lot of fun,” Davis said. “Plus, it’s great exposure for the University to get people interested in cross country and track.”
The LSSU women return their top five finishers from last year’s Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships: Lydia Heimonen, MacKenzie Kelly, Trudie Mulville, Hannah Passino and McKenzie Richardson. Rachel Leggett and Casey Shafter also return, and Heimonen is coming off a stellar freshman campaign.
The top male returnees are Garrett Smith, Ryan Rogers, Jack Miles, while Dylan Richards, Travis Sutton, Zachary Workman and Park Wyngaard are also back.
“Our teams look to be much improved this year, particularly the women,” Davis said. “We brought in a solid freshman class on the women’s side, and Lydia looks to be even stronger than last year. We hope to move up several spots in the conference and region. Our men should be better as well, as we have three freshmen who will fight for varsity spots. We also have several sophomores who look to build on what they did last year. Both squads have superb senior leadership in Baker, Rogers, Passino and Shafer.”
For a course map, go to the Yanni Invitational Info page on www.lssulakers.com/cross country.