Miami University
MAC Championship
Miami Men Struggle at MAC Championships
10/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 29, 2011
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Individual Results
MUNCIE, Ind. - Junior Jarrod Eick earned First-Team All-Mid-American Conference honors but youth and inexperience proved to be costly as the Miami University men's cross country team finished eighth at the MAC Championship, hosted by Ball State Saturday morning at Muncie Elks Country Club.
The RedHawks, who tied for second a year ago, totaled 173 points in the nine-team field, suffering their worst finish at the league meet since 1989 when Miami also placed eighth. Eastern Michigan won the MAC crown for the second straight year and sixth time in the last seven years with 68 points. Central Michigan was the runner-up with 78 points. Akron finished 40 points ahead of Miami in seventh while Bowling Green was ninth, 83 points behind the `Hawks.
"It was pretty unpleasant," head coach Warren Mandrell said of the race and the team's finish. "They're so much better than that. It absolutely shocked me. If we would have finished in the middle that wouldn't have been any kind of surprise but to just lay down, it was just awful."
Eick (Hartville, Ohio) placed fifth in an 8K personal-best 24:38.9 to garner All-MAC honors for the first time in his career. He was Miami's top finisher for the fourth time this year, improving on his 21st place finish at last year's MAC meet. Sophomore Dave Wing (Naperville, Ill.) was the second RedHawk to finish, crossing in 21st in a personal-best 25:05.7.
Behind Miami's top two finishers, however, was a large gap as redshirt sophomore Matt Marol (Evanston, Ill.) finished 50th in 25:43.0. Redshirt junior Brett Wagner (Toledo, Ohio), running in his first MAC meet, was 53rd in a personal-best 25:47.5 while redshirt freshman Daniel Garleb (Pickerington, Ohio) rounded out Miami's scoring five in 55th place in a season-best 25:48.9.
"One thing that hurt us a lot is we have no old guys this year. The ones we do have are hurt," Mandrell said. "For four of the eight guys here it was their first MAC meet and then for two guys it was only their second MAC meet and the other two guys it was their third MAC meet so we didn't have any seniors here. It was just disappointing."
Freshman James Kraus (Maumee, Ohio) was 68th while redshirt junior David Eichenberger (Plainfield, Ind.), who was a First-Team All-MAC performer last year when he finished fourth, placed 74th after running for the first time in a month while hampered by an injury.
The RedHawks look for a better performance at their next meet on Saturday, Nov. 12 when they run at the Great Lakes Regional Championship in Toledo, Ohio.
--MURedHawks.com--
