The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Cummings, Creutz ready for final race
Longtime Hornet standouts headed to MSU, Dayton after Nike Nationals
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: June 19, 2008
All good things, they say, come to an end.
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For the Saline girls' track and cross country programs, two very good things indeed will come to a final close this weekend at the Nike Outdoor Nationals meet in Greensboro, N.C. — namely, the careers of recent Saline graduates and 2008 track captains Meagan Creutz and Lindsey Cummings.
After four years spent helping Saline to four top-10 cross country finishes and a state championship in the 3,200-meter relay in 2007 (the program's first in a relay event), Creutz and Cummings will join rising juniors Alex Leptich and Kate Carter in running the 3,200 relay and the distance medley relay in what will be their final performances representing Saline.
"It's kind of mixed emotions," Creutz said this week. "I'm really excited about how well we can do. But it's also sad to know that this is the last time I'm going to be on a team with the three of them. We want to make it worth it."
"It's bittersweet," Cummings said. "We've been going hard since December. There's been some pressure. A lot's been expected of us, so we want to go out with a bang.
"It's more that we want to do well and all be happy with how we run than saying 'Oh ,it's over.'"
The Nike Nationals will offer Creutz and Cummings a chance to go out on a higher note than the quartet's performance at the recent state meet, where Cummings described the team's showing as "Eh."
"None of us were terrible," she said. "But we would have liked to have done better. I think the state meet can help us. We want to show that we can do the things we say we can do."
The meet is important for reasons that go beyond just departing in style, however, as a top-six finish would give the relays All-American status. Creutz earned the honor as part of the 2006 3,200 team that also featured her sister Eileen, and each became All-Americans in the Nike Indoor Nationals this winter. But with the outdoor meet "more competitive" according to Creutz, they both badly want to do something special in their final race alongside Carter and Leptich.
"The field is incredible," Creutz said. "We're hoping we can improve on our time from state and get on the podium."
Part of the success of both the cross country and track distance teams, Creutz and Cummings agreed, was the unique chemistry they shared with their younger teammates.
"One of the things I'll always remember is hanging out with Alex and Kate," Creutz said. "We practice together every single day, so it's a good thing we like each other. It helps us relax. We all have pretty similar senses of humor."
While the meet will conclude their time in Saline, the Nike Nationals will be far from the end of either Creutz's or Cummings's running career. Creutz will head to Michigan State this fall to run for both the Spartans' track and cross country teams while Cummings will head south to do the same at Dayton University.
Creutz said she initially saw Michigan St. as her "safety school," but a second visit and an invitation into its honors college changed the equation.
"It felt like a better fit for me," she said. "Their cross country program has been really successful at the NCAAs, so it's exciting to jump into a program like that. I'm looking forward to it."
Cummings likewise was planning on going elsewhere before a visit to Dayton helped change her mind.
"I loved it," she said. "It's pretty much everything I wanted. The cross country team seemed really close-knit, which is similar to what I've had here. The coach has been really successful on her own (qualifying for the U.S Olympic trials in the marathon) so I'm sure she'll have a lot of good advice to pass on."
But before then, Greensboro will give them one last chance to shine together.
"I really wouldn't change anything," Creutz said. "I'd do it all over again."
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