MUNCIE, Indiana - The 2024 MAC Cross Country Championships are being hosted by Ball State University at the Ball State Cross Country Course. Saturday's women's race begins at 11 am ET, while the men's begins at 12 pm ET. You can find all the information on the MAC Cross Country Championship Central Page.
Men's & Women’s Team-By-Team Previews
Akron
Men: Akron captured its first-ever league men’s cross country title a year ago after placing second in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Sophomore Titus Kirui (Eldoret, Kenya) is Akron’s top-returning finisher for the men’s team garnering Second-Team All-MAC accolades after finishing 12th in 24:41.71. Additionally, sophomore Majid Abuaun (Rocky River, Ohio) added a career-best time of 25:56.79.
Women: Sophomore Mary Munga is the top-returning finisher for the women’s team earning First-Team All-MAC accolades on the strength of placing fourth in the women's 6K in 20:45.64. Turning in career-best times of 21:15.60, 21:41.39 and 21:42.17, respectively, was sophomore Megan Hipple and seniors Halle Sebest and Danielle Honaker Additionally, sophomore Kayla Sucharski and senior Hannah Kerr registered times of 23:33.43 and 24:03.00.
Ball State
The Ball State cross country team has seen a lot of improvement throughout the 2024 season. The Cardinals competed in four regular season meets, consistently finishing in the top five among their competitors. One of their best outings came at Notre Dame’s Joe Piane Invite where they finished fifth of 23 teams, collecting four personal best performances. Carly Spletzer has been a highly reliable competitor, leading the team at each regular season meet.
Bowling Green
Men: The BGSU men’s squad is led by graduate student Anthony Sweet, who ran his PR time of 25:00.2 at last year's MAC Championships. Sophomore Micah Bentley also looks to take charge, as he earned a PR of 25:49.2 earlier this year at the George Dales Invitational.
Women: The BGSU women's team has boasted some the top runners in the MAC this season. Junior Kylee Cubbison (PR of 20:40.9 at the Paul Short Run) leads the way for the Falcons, as she earned second-team All-MAC honors last year with an 11th-place finish at the conference meet. As a freshman in 2022, she placed 24th. Freshman Lexi Panning (PR of 21:01.7 at the Paul Short Run) continues to impress as well, while graduate student Kailee Perry (PR of 20:31.8 at the 2022 Paul Short Run) brings experience to the meet. Perry, a two-time All-MAC recipient, won the race during her first year of competition in 2020 and was voted the conference's Freshman of the Year that season. Junior Regina Rose (PR of 21:02.3 at the George Dales Invitational) will also look to score for the Falcons after placing 21st in last year's MAC Championship.
Buffalo
Men: The Buffalo men enter conference championships holding the 15th spot in the Northeast Region. The Bulls earned their regional ranking by sharing the spotlight throughout the season. Jacob Brink was most recently the team’s top finishers at the Canisius Alumni Classic, mapping the 8k course in 24:23.6 to win the race with a new personal best time. At the Paul Short Invitational 8k it was Noah Brightman who placed first for the Bulls with a new personal best time of 24:35.9 to finish inside the top 75 in a field of 366 student-athletes. Evan Hilbert has been a mainstay in the top five for the Bulls too, placing just behind Brightman to take 75th with a new personal best time of 24:36.4. Just a year ago the Buffalo men took fourth at MAC Championships, a mark in which the team intends to improve.
Women: The Buffalo women are coming off a strong performance at the Canisius Alumni Classic. The Bulls finished third at the local competition, with four of five runners setting new personal records on the 5k course. Lacey Danilovitz has headlined for the Bulls for the majority of the season, being the first Buffalo runner to place in all four of the races she’s competed in. Bronagh Cassidy has been a mainstay in the Buffalo women’s top five finishers too. The junior has placed inside Buffalo’s top three in all three races she’s competed in this season. The Bulls head to MAC Championships looking to improve upon their finish last season with a young core of student-athletes.
Central Michigan
Men: The CMU men are led by Blake Chipman and Nick Cockerel, who have been the Chippewas’ top finishers in the 2024 season. Chipman finished 6th in the men’s 8k at WMU’s George Dales Invite, Cockerel 10th, and at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, 43rd and 37th, respectively. Joining Chipman and Cockerel in Muncie are Jason Fredricks, Greg Janesak, Clay Kuiper, Ethan Leitner, Aiden Smith, Miciah Smith, Joey Taverna and Carson White.
Women: Central Michigan Cross Country looks onward to postseason competition on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Mid-American Conference Championships hosted by Ball State in Muncie, Ind. The Chippewa women return senior Emily Paupore, the 2023 Women’s Cross Country MAC Champion, who was the first to win the title in program history, alongside a team of seasoned runners. Paupore has raced in two of CMU’s four regular season races in the 2024 season and set a new program-best 5k record, which she initially set in 2023. She comes into the women’s 6k with a personal best time of 20:30.3. Senior Natalie Newcombe has been having a standout season for CMU, having earned MAC Runner of the Week honors twice this year. She first earned the award on Sept. 3 after winning CMU’s Jeff Drenth Memorial 5k on Aug. 30, and again on Sept. 20 after a 2nd-place finish at WMU’s George Dales Invite. The pair are joined by Jessie Gibbins, Maya Guikema, Emma Janesak, Kate Jenkins, Joanna Kelley, Jelena Prescott, Ava Teed and Chesney Wilke on the Championship course on Saturday.
Eastern Michigan
Men: The Eastern Michigan University men’s cross country team has competed in six meets this fall leading up to the MAC Championships. They have had two first-place finishes this year, including the Jeff Drenth Memorial and the George Dales Invitational, hosted by Central Michigan University and Western Michigan University, respectively. They scored 31 and 35 respective points in these meets. They additionally had a third-place finish at the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame. In their six meets, they raced the 8k four times and the 5k twice. Some of the athletes who stood out for Eastern Michigan in the fall season were Sam Peterson, Lachlan Cornelius, Ty Dailey, and Ronan Codrye. Peterson posted the best 5k and 8k times for Eastern this past fall, including a 14:56.9 5k and a 23:32.6 8k. They head to Muncie coming off a 395-point 12th-place finish in a very competitive field at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, which was hosted by Texas A&M University.
Women: The Eastern Michigan University women’s cross country team competed in six meets this fall leading up to the MAC Championships. They had two top-three finishes throughout the six meets, including the Jeff Drenth Memorial and George Dales Invitational, hosted by Central Michigan University and Western Michigan University, respectively. In their six meets, they raced the 6k four times and the 5k twice. They had one other top-10 finish this year which came at the Falcon Invite hosted by Bowling Green State University, where they came in 10th place with 261 total points. Eastern Michigan was led by Paige Marchant, Marta Moreno, Anita Zaro, and Lucy Jones. Marchant posted the best 5k and 6k times for Eastern Michigan, with a 16:44.4 5k, and a 19:32 flat 6k. The program heads to Muncie after 11th and 10th place finishes at the Falcon Invite and Arturo Barrios Invitational, hosted by Bowling Green State University and Texas A&M University.
Kent State
Led by freshman Nora Salem, Kent State’s youthful roster has improved throughout the season and aims to surpass external expectations.
Miami
Men: The Miami University men’s cross country team enters this weekend’s MAC Championships looking for a 10th consecutive top-three team finish (including titles in 2018 and 2022). The RedHawk men are paced by graduate student Mhalicki Bronson (who posted an 8K time of 23:32.7 earlier this month), junior Patrick Wills (23:40.7) and sophomore Chris Perkins (24:02.2). Bronson and Wills were both Second-Team All-MAC performers in 2023, finishing in the top 10 at the conference championships.
Women: The Miami University women’s cross country team heads to Muncie this weekend looking for a seventh top-four finish in the past eight years. The RedHawks are led by fifth-year Ava Nuttall, who already owns two career individual top-10 finishes at the MAC Cross Country Championships. Nuttall was named All-MAC each of the past three seasons, including a First-Team nod in 2022 when she ran a career-best 20:13.3 to take fourth place at the MAC Championships. Miami senior Annie Christie should also be a key factor in this Saturday’s race after posting a career-best 6K time of 21:06.1 last month.
Northern Illinois
The NIU women’s cross country team heads to Ball State for the MAC Championships on Saturday. Last time out, NIU earned an eighth-place finish in the white race at the Bradley Pink Classic (Oct. 18). Bailey Wilk (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) led the way with a time of 23:20.79 to claim a top 50 finish. Wilk’s time was her best 6K mark of the season by nearly five seconds, Rachel Dietrich (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) was NIU’s second finisher at Bradley, running 24:11.10, over 90 seconds better than her previous best of the year. The Huskies will be looking to improve upon their 11th place finish at last season's conference championship.
Ohio
Men: Throughout this season, sophomore Andrew Bracken (Westerville, Ohio) has consistently been a top performer for the men’s team. Bracken was the men’s team top finisher at the Roy Griak Invitational (9/20) and Bradley Pink Invitational (10/18). Most recently, Bracken placed 24th overall with a significant PR of 24:19.32 in the 8k race at the Bradley Pink Invitational (10/18). As a group, the men have earned three top 12 team finishes this season.
Women: Junior Leila Boussedra (Worthington, Ohio) has been Ohio’s top female performer throughout this season. Most recently, Boussedra ran a season-best 6k time of 20:42.93 - the best 6k time on the team so far this season - and placed 15th overall at the Bradley Pink Invitational (10/18). The women’s team currently ranks sixth in the Great Lakes Regional, the highest regional ranking in program history. Ohio women’s cross country has also earned three-straight top five team finishes.
Toledo
Men: Toledo men's cross country is looking to make history, as it attempts to win its first-ever MAC Championship title this Saturday. In each of the last three seasons, Toledo has earned runner-up in the championship event. In 2023, Dennis Mutai became the first Toledo men's cross country runner to take home the individual championship while Tito Medrano earned the first men's MAC Coach of the Year award for Toledo. Freshman Dominic Serem has led the Rockets, earning a first place finish in the MAC Championship Preview (Sept. 14), a ninth place finish in the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational (Oct. 4) and placed third in the Princeton Fall Classic (Oct. 18).
Women: The Toledo women's cross country team is looking to grab their fourth-straight conference championship title on Saturday. Toledo is the only MAC program to be ranked in the latest USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll, debuting at No. 29. The Rockets are also the highest ranked MAC program in the Great Lakes Region, checking in at No. 4. Mercy Kinyanjui has led the team throughout the season, placing seventh at the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational (Oct. 4) and taking 17th at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals race (Oct. 19). The Rockets team placed fifth overall in the Loyola meet, beating out then-No. 29 Texas, Ohio State, Indiana and Wisconsin. Toledo also earned an overall finish of 19th in the Wisconsin-Pre Nationals event, beating out Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisville and Boston College.
Western Michigan
Western Michigan enters the MAC Championship meet with high expectations after a strong regular season. WMU was led by Lilly Zelasko throughout the season, as she paced the Broncos in every meet she competed in. Veteran Brooke Soper has been a mainstay in the WMU scoring lineup, finishing no lower than third for the team in every meet this season. Along with those two, Western Michigan has seen flashes from younger runners like Lily Overton and Lara Machado. The Broncos have had at least two All-MAC performers in each of the last two seasons.
