Miami University
MAC Championship
Women's Cross Country Repeats as MAC Champions
10/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 31, 2009
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
Individual Results
Interview with Coach Kelly Phillips
ATHENS, Ohio - One Mid-American Conference championship was not enough for the Miami University women's cross country team, as it captured its second consecutive league crown Saturday at Ohio University, after winning its first MAC Championship in program history a year ago. Two RedHawks earned First-Team All-MAC honors while four landed on the second team, despite a muddy and sloppy course.
Miami totaled 44 points, finishing 19 points ahead of second-place Toledo, who had just beaten the RedHawks at Pre-Nationals two weeks ago. Coming into the week, the Rockets were ranked sixth in the U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Great Lakes Region poll while Miami was 10th. Akron, Central Michigan and Kent State rounded out the top five at the MAC Championship, respectively.
Seniors Amanda Mirochna (Naperville, Ohio) and Laura Neufarth (Centerville, Ohio), who was the 2007 individual MAC champion, garnered First-Team All-MAC accolades by placing third and fifth, respectively. Mirochna earned first-team honors for the second straight season in a time of 22:32.4, finishing three places better than a year ago, while Neufarth clocked in two seconds later and was named All-MAC for the third straight year.
"Amanda just ran amazing. You could just tell from the start. And Rachel Patterson (12th) was our hidden secret, as we decided last week that she would run. She took it out hard and made everybody go after it," said first-year head coach Kelly Phillips, who was named 2009 MAC Coach of the Year, the second straight year a Miami coach has earned the distinction. "Within the first 1,000 meters they just went after it. They ran as a great pack and were fired up the whole time. It was really fun to watch."
Toledo's Ari Fisher won the individual MAC title, crossing 14 seconds ahead of Mirochna.
Miami's third through sixth finishers all crossed in order, grabbing spots 11 through 14 all within two seconds of each other. Senior Kelsey McHugh (Columbus, Ohio) was Miami's third finisher in 11th place in 23:00.9 while junior Rachel Patterson (Rochester, Mich.), competing for the first time in 2009, was 12th in 23:02.2. Junior Katie Lenahan (Cincinnati, Ohio) matched her 2008 MAC finish placing 13th just two-tenths of a second behind Patterson to round out the RedHawks' scoring five, while sophomore Maggie Bingham (Carmel, Ind.) crossed a tenth of a tick later as Miami's sixth finisher.
All four RedHawks (McHugh, Patterson, Lenahan and Bingham) received Second-Team All-MAC recognition, marking the second straight year of All-MAC accolades for McHugh, Patterson and Lenahan. Junior Kelley Miller (Dublin, Ohio) was Miami's seventh finisher in 18th place.
"Honestly, I can't take any credit for this group. I have to credit my predecessors for good recruiting but the team did an amazing job," Phillips said. "For the future, it's very exciting because hopefully it'll make better recruits come to Miami and keep building the program. Our next mission is to get to Nationals."
The RedHawks will try to carry their success into the Great Lakes Regional Championship, where Miami will look to qualify for the NCAA Championship. The Great Lakes Regional will be run Saturday, Nov. 14 in Bloomington, Ind. and is hosted by Indiana University.
--MURedHawks.com--
