Trio of RedHawks Earn Academic All-MAC Honors
1/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Jan. 9, 2012
CLEVELAND - Three members of the Miami University men's cross country team have been recognized for their work in the classroom and on the course as redshirt junior David Eichenberger, redshirt freshman Daniel Garleb and redshirt sophomore Matt Marol were all named Academic All-MAC, the Mid-American Conference announced Monday. Garleb and Marol are first-time honorees while Eichenberger has now earned the accolade all three years he's been eligible, joining Pat Sovacool (2006-08) and Paul Krebs (2007-09) as Miami's only three-time Academic All-MAC cross country runners.
Miami's three representatives on the Academic All-MAC team tied for the second most of any school along with Bowling Green. Eastern Michigan placed four runners on the 14-man team. The three recipients marked the fourth time in the last five years Miami has put three runners on the team, also doing so in 2007, 2008 and 2009, which ties for the most in program history.
Eichenberger (Plainfield, Ind.), who carries a 3.95 grade-point average while double majoring in exercise science and history, battled through injuries to run in five of Miami's seven meets this year, scoring in four. He was Miami's top finisher and was the overall runner-up (out of 97) at the LSU Invitational, leading the RedHawks to the team title in 27:09.9, which earned him MAC Runner of the Week and MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors. He was Miami's second scorer at the All-Ohio Championship, placing 26th (out of 310) in a season-best 25:51.07. At the Miami Open, he was eighth overall (26:10) as he helped Miami take first and also helped the `Hawks win the Flyer 5K Challenge, placing third on the team and sixth overall in 15:35.9. At the MAC Championship, he took 74th overall and was seventh on the team while running on a bad leg.
Garleb (Pickerington, Ohio), a management and leadership major with a 3.66 GPA, ran in all seven races in his first season running cross country and scored in six of them. His best finish was third overall at Miami's own Miami Open in 25:54 as he helped Miami to the team title. He clocked a career-best 8K time of 25:48.9 at the MAC Championship where he was Miami's fifth scorer in 55th place. Garleb finished eighth out of 97 and fourth on the team at the LSU Invitational (27:37.9), again helping Miami win the meet. He was Miami's third finisher and took 29th (out of 310) at the All-Ohio Championship (25:53.97) and placed 14th overall and fourth on the team at the Flyer 5K Challenge (16:00.9). At the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, he was also Miami's fourth scorer, crossing in 112th in a 10K time of 32:35.8.
Marol (Evanston, Ill.), who boasts a 3.73 GPA while majoring in management and leadership and minoring in nutrition, missed the first two meets of the season with an injury but came on strong, scoring in each of Miami's final five races. He helped Miami win the LSU Invitational as the team's third scorer while placing seventh overall in 27:31.7. At the MAC Championship, he was again Miami's third finisher and took 50th overall in a season-best 25:43.0. At the Penn State National meet he placed 55th (out of 189) and was once more third on the team in 27:52. Marol was Miami's fifth scorer and placed 66th overall at the All-Ohio Championship (26:22.76) and was also the fifth scorer at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, placing 134th in the 10K race (33:07.6).
Sophomore Dave Wing (Naperville, Ill.) landed on the 2011 Cross Country Academic Honor Roll by being eligible for Academic All-MAC, as he carries over a 3.3 GPA.
To be eligible for the Academic All-MAC Team, student-athletes must have completed at least one year at their institution, competed in at least half the team's races and have a cumulative GPA above 3.20.
--MURedHawks.com--