BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The University of Toledo women’s cross country team came up three points short of winning its fourth consecutive Mid-American Conference Championship as they were defeated by Miami.

The RedHawks finished with 45 points, while the Rockets totaled 48 (lowest score wins). 

The men’s team finished eighth in the day’s first race. 

The Rocket women were preseason favorites to capture their fourth straight MAC championship, and were expecting nothing less.

“It’s kind of a disappointing day all around - men and women,” said head coach Linh Nguyen. “But I told them, we win as a team and we lose as a team.”

After the starting gun sounded, the women’s team moved toward the front of the pack and were working well together to keep others behind them. 

At the mile and a half marker, the team was still in great position to win it while players from all teams were jockeying for position. Many UT runners separated themselves and broke their way into the front of the pack with the leaders.

As the rain began to fall and the wind started to pick up, the weather began to take a toll on the course conditions and the runners. 

As everyone crossed the finish line, there was still some confusion over who won the race.

“I tried gathering up the girls as quickly as possible before anyone knew if we had won or not; I already did the calculations and knew we had lost by three,” Nguyen said. “I wanted to be the one to tell them.”

The team gathered inside their team tent, where many runners began to show their emotions from a bitter defeat.

“I didn’t want any of the girls putting the loss on themselves,” Nguyen said.”Being a competitor, it’s really easy to say ‘I should’ve ran better.’ I couldn’t have that pressure on any of them.”

Junior Brooke Tullis was once again the Rockets’ top finisher, placing fourth with a time of 21:21.98. Tullis, along with junior Megan Wright, who placed sixth with a time of 21:27.70, earned first-team All-MAC honors.

“When you’re not happy with how you did, you can always take that fire into the next workout, the next training session, the next race to make yourself better,” Wright said.

Junior teammates Megan Gaysunas, Liz Weiler and Mackenzie Chojnacky rounded out the top five for the Rockets, finishing 11th, 13th and 14th, respectively. All three earned second-team All-MAC honors for their performances.

Julie Accurso of Ohio won the women’s race.

“The sting and the disappointment of a loss is something that either you let it linger, or you work to get over it,” Nguyen said.

The men’s team finished eighth for the second consecutive year, led by junior Hillary Serem, who finished 20th with a time of 25:49.15. Junior Jake Kasperski was the team’s second finisher, placing 36th with a time of 26:10.60.

Both teams are off for two weeks before traveling to Madison, Wis., for the NCAA Regional Championships on Friday, Nov. 15. There, they will be looking to qualify for the NCAA Championship meet in Terre Haute, Ind.