Miami University
MAC Championship
Men's Cross Country Claims Fourth at MAC Championship
11/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 31, 2009
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Individual Results
ATHENS, Ohio - Facing a muddy and sloppy course Saturday morning, the Miami University men's cross country team finished in fourth place at the Mid-American Conference Championship, hosted by Ohio University. The fourth-place finish marked just the second time since 1996 that the RedHawks did not finish in the top three at the league championship, also claiming fourth in 2006.
Miami finished with 95 points, 52 points ahead of fifth-place Buffalo, while Kent State claimed its first MAC title in program history with 30 points. Eastern Michigan placed second (55 points) while Central Michigan was third with 59 points. The Golden Flashes' Aiman Scullion won the individual MAC title in 25:32.7, nine seconds better than the second finisher.
"For whatever reason, the guys have not handled the mud very well," head coach Warren Mandrell said. "The course was very soft because it rained all night. They put themselves out there early and the hope was to gradually pick people off but they pretty much stayed static or ended up losing ground later in the race."
Junior Michael Perry (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the way for the 'Hawks in 12th place in 26:21.5 and garnered Second-Team All-MAC accolades. He was Miami's top finisher for the first time in his career and achieved his best finish at a MAC Championship.
"Michael Perry was moving really well and he fell down and had to start catching up. He was as close to running his potential as any of the guys," Mandrell said. "It was good for him, especially considering he fell down and had to get going again."
Senior Paul Krebs (Kettering, Ohio) finished in 18th place in 26:36.1 while redshirt freshman David Eichenberger (Plainfield, Ind.) crossed in 20th three ticks later. Seniors Adam Martin (Chesterton, Ind.) and Kevin Silver (Beachwood, Ohio), who was last year's runner-up, rounded out Miami's scoring five in 21st and 24th place, respectively, with Martin grabbing a career-best MAC finish.
"Kevin went out and put himself in a good position early but he struggled with the mud. He's got long strides with a high back kick and just had trouble with the sloppy conditions. I know he was certainly disappointed," Mandrell said. "I don't know if we could have caught Kent if we did have a good race, but we certainly would have had a better finish."
Redshirt sophomore Chris Dennison (Aurora, Ohio) placed 28th as Miami's sixth finisher while senior Ryan Dezso (Copley, Ohio) rounded out the RedHawks' top seven in 39th place.
Miami returns to action Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Great Lakes Regional, hosted by Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., where the 'Hawks will look to rebound and try to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
--MURedHawks.com--
