Bowling Green State University Athletics
MAC Cross Country Championships Set For Saturday (Nov. 1)
October 27, 2003 | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 27, 2003
AKRON, Ohio - The best harriers in the Mid-American Conference will converge upon Northeast Ohio as the University of Akron plays host to the 2003 MAC Cross Country Championships Saturday (Nov. 1). The men's 8,000-meter race and women's 5,000-meter race will be contested on the Mayfair Country Club course in Green, Ohio.
The Bowling Green State University men's and women's teams, coached by Cami Wells, will be part of a field that will feature over 200 runners from 13 men's teams and 12 women's teams, including 2002 defending team champions Central Michigan (men's) and Toledo (women's). Also in the field will be 2002 MAC men's champion and All-American Gavin Thompson of Eastern Michigan and Adriana Zalucka of the host Zips who qualified for the 2002 NCAA Championships where she placed 49th.
For the fourth consecutive year, Toledo's women's team was picked by the league's coaches back in August to win the MAC cross country championship. Ball State, the only MAC women's team to qualify for the NCAA Championship in 2002, was picked to finish second in the preseason poll.
Miami, which finished third at the 2002 MAC Championship, was pegged to finish third in 2003. Akron was tabbed fourth after a 2002 fifth-place finish. Kent State and Central Michigan rounded out the women's poll in the fifth and sixth positions, after finishing fourth and sixth, respectively, at the 2002 championship.
On the men's side, Central Michigan was chosen to repeat as MAC champions. The men's cross country teams of CMU and Eastern Michigan look to continue their rivalry during the 2003 championships, as the Eagles were tabbed second in the preseason poll. Central edged Eastern for the 2002 MAC title by a single point. The Eagles finished third at the 2002 NCAA Championships.
Miami, after finishing third last year, was picked to place third again in 2003. Western Michigan and Kent State check in at fourth and fifth, respectively, the same positions where both finished at the 2002 MAC Championship. Toledo was picked to finish sixth in '03 after placing seventh at the 2002 MAC Championship.
The women's race will start the day at 11:00 a.m., with the men's race following at noon. An awards ceremony to recognize the individual and team champions will take place on the Mayfair Country Club terrace around 1:30 p.m.
For more information, please visit the official web site of the MAC Cross Country Championships.
2003 Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championships
Schedule of Events
Saturday, Nov. 1 - Mayfair Country Club - Green, Ohio
8 a.m. - Course Available For Team Inspection/Warm-Ups 11 a.m. - Women's 5,000-meter race Noon - Men's 8,000-meter race 1:30 p.m - Awards Ceremony
(Source - Univ. of Akron Athletics Media Relations)
