Women's Cross Country Picked Second in MAC Preseason Poll
8/31/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Aug. 31, 2011
CLEVELAND - Having placed no worse than third at any of the last four Mid-American Conference Championships, including a pair of titles, the Miami University women's cross country team is once again expected to be a contender in 2011, as the RedHawks were tabbed second in the MAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released Wednesday.
Toledo, the defending MAC champions, was picked to repeat as MAC champions at the 2011 MAC Championship, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 29 in Muncie, Ind. The Rockets return nearly their entire team from last year's squad that also qualified for the NCAA Championships and placed 28th, including two-time individual MAC champion Ari Fisher.
Coming in third in the poll behind Miami was Central Michigan, who edged the RedHawks for second place at the 2010 MAC Championship when Miami took third. The Chippewas were followed by Eastern Michigan in fourth and Ohio in fifth, as the two finished in reverse order at last year's MAC meet. Akron was picked sixth in the poll, followed by Western Michigan in seventh, also swapping spots from last year's finish.
Kent State was tabbed eighth in the preseason poll, followed by Buffalo and Bowling Green in ninth and 10th, respectively. Host Ball State was predicted to finish 11th while Northern Illinois rounded out the preseason poll in 12th.
The RedHawks are also ranked in the 2011 preseason USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Poll, which was announced Monday, coming in at No. 8. The Rockets are ranked second in the regional poll behind Michigan while Central Michigan is just in front of Miami at No. 7. Michigan State, Indiana and Ohio State round out the top five in the regional poll, respectively. The only other MAC schools ranked in the Great Lakes Region poll (top 15) are Ohio at No. 12 and Eastern Michigan at No. 13.
Despite the departure of NCAA Championship qualifier Rachel Patterson, Miami returns three of its top five finishers from the 2010 MAC Championship in seniors Maggie Bingham (Carmel, Ind.), Kelley Miller (Dublin, Ohio) and Jillian Dickman (Madison, Ohio) as Bingham and Miller were both Second-Team All-MAC performers. Sophomore Kate Carter (Ann Arbor, Mich.) also returns after finishing as Miami's sixth runner in her first MAC meet.
The RedHawks open the 2011 season Saturday, Sept. 3 at the Dayton Flyer 5K Challenge, although several of Miami's top runners are expected to sit out the meet and run the following week at home in the Miami Open. A complete season preview of the women's cross country team will be available later this week on MURedHawks.com.
2011 MAC Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Toledo
2. MIAMI
3. Central Michigan
4. Eastern Michigan
5. Ohio
6. Akron
7. Western Michigan
8. Kent State
9. Buffalo
10. Bowling Green
11. Ball State
12. Northern Illinois
Predicted Team Champion: Toledo
--MURedHawks.com--