UT not fast enough

The Toledo men’s and women’s cross country teams fell short of expectations in the Mid-American Conference Oct. 31 championships with a pair of ninth-place finishes. Akron University hosted the MAC Championships at Glen Oak High School in Canton, Ohio.

UT’s women finished with a total time of 1:52.55, with an average time of 22:35. The Rockets were led by sophomore Stephanie Barlow who finished 30th with a time of 22:09.53.

“Not a single lady that competed last year at the MAC championship competed at this year’s,” said Head Coach Linh Nguyen. “In a distance race once you have little seeds of doubt in your mind it’s difficult to turn the tide on that negative thinking.”

Freshman Jennifer Licther finished second for UT and 43rd overall with a time of 22:33.25. Junior Theresa Warsecke, freshman Olivia Chinn and senior Julia Pusateri finished out the top five Rocket finishers coming in 48th, 51st and 52nd respectfully.

“Honestly, there wasn’t a whole lot to like,” Nguyen said. “We just didn’t compete very well.”

Eastern Michigan had the individual champion Alsu Bogdanovic who posted a time of 20:39.26, an average mile of 5:32.2.

Eastern Michigan would also take home the team championship — for the first time in their school’s history — with a total time of 1:46.47. The Eagles dominated having only 2 runners finish outside the top 25.

They had an impressive finish order (1-4-6-21-23-56-72) with an average team time of 21:22.

“For whatever reason we lacked confidence and competitiveness,” Nguyen said. “Both teams just faded throughout the race.”

The men’s team’s luck wasn’t much better than the women’s, finishing in last place.

Toledo was led by senior Hillary Serem who finished 33rd with a time of 25:52.48. He was followed by sophomore Stalline Kurgat, who finished at 26:00.76 and came in 40th. Senior Adam Bess crossed the finish line at 26:07.71, good enough to place 45th and round out the Top 50 runners in the race for the Rockets.

Eastern Michigan’s Nicholas Raymond won the individual championship running a 24:10.28 with an average mile of 4:51.8.

Also scoring for the Rockets were freshman Louis Guardiola in 58th place at 26:32.08 with an average mile of 5:20.3, freshman Andrew Ciaccia in 66th place finishing at 26:51.90 with his average mile at 5:24.3 and freshman Jacob Wistinhausen in 71st.

UT gained major experience for the younger runners, which will be valuable to them down the road.

“Having the supporting cast go through this will really help us next year and the years after,” Nguyen said.

Eastern Michigan also took the men’s team championship with a team time of 2:02.26. They were followed by host Akron and Miami (Ohio) who rounded out the top three.

Both men’s and women’s teams will return to action in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 13 in Madison, Wis.