Women's Cross Country Reveals 2011 Slate
7/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
July 14, 2011
OXFORD, Ohio - For the second straight season, Miami University's women's cross country team will host a home meet, which highlights an eight-meet 2011 schedule that head coach Kelly Phillips announced Thursday. The RedHawks run in four meets in Ohio, two in Indiana and one each in Michigan and Pennsylvania while the slate includes all the same meets from 2010.
Miami opens its season Saturday, Sept. 3 by making its eighth straight appearance at the Dayton Flyer 5K Challenge, winning the meet each of the last four years. The RedHawks then host their lone home meet, the Miami Open, the following Saturday (Sept. 10) on Miami's Western Campus. The home meet will feature alumni racing against the current varsity team, as well as other schools from the area.
On Friday, Sept. 16, Miami travels to Michigan State University for the 6K Spartan Invitational, which is an unscored meet. The `Hawks will be making their third consecutive trip to MSU for the meet. Two weeks later on Friday, Sept. 30, the RedHawk harriers run in the All-Ohio Championship, hosted by Cedarville University. Miami is the defending champion at the All-Ohio meet, also winning the title in 2007.
In a final tune-up before the league championship, Miami heads east on Friday, Oct. 14 for the 6K Penn State National Meet, where the `Hawks will be running for a second straight year and just the second time ever. Miami took fourth out of 31 teams at last year's race, which featured teams from across the eastern half of the U.S. The RedHawks then look to capture their third ever Mid-American Conference Championship Saturday, Oct. 29, competing at the 6K MAC Championship, hosted by Ball State in Muncie, Ind. Miami won its first two conference crowns in 2008 and 2009 before placing third a year ago.
The NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship is next on the docket for the `Hawks, as they look to qualify for the NCAA Championship. The 6K Great Lakes Regional is hosted by the University of Toledo on Saturday, Nov. 12. Miami placed seventh out of 33 teams at last year's regional and needs a top-two team finish to clinch a spot in the NCAA Championship while 13 at-large teams among all the regionals also qualify for the NCAA meet. The 2011 NCAA Championship is Monday, Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind. and hosted by Indiana State. Although the RedHawks did not qualify as a team last year, graduated senior Rachel Patterson earned an individual berth and took 46th out of 253 runners.
Miami returns four of its top seven finishers from the 2010 MAC Championship in rising seniors Maggie Bingham and Kelley Miller, rising junior Jillian Dickman and rising sophomore Kate Carter. The RedHawks will have to replace Patterson, who was Miami's top finisher at every race in 2010 and took third overall at the league meet, as well as graduated seniors Katie Lenahan and Amanda Mirochna, both of whom were also All-MAC performers during their career. Miami does add seven freshmen to its squad in 2011, however, which will help fill the void left by the departed seniors.
--MURedHawks.com--