Official Results
Championship Central
VIDEO: Eastern Michigan Head Coach Sue Parks
VIDEO: Eastern Michigan's Natalie Cizmas
Toledo, Ohio -- For the fourth consecutive season, Eastern Michigan has clamined the Women’s Cross Country Championship title. The Eagles finished with a team total of 76 points.
Eastern Michigan's Natalie Cizmas took home the individual title, posting a time of 20:34.9. Toledo's Athena Welsh crossed the finish line to take second place in a time of 20:37.9, while Bowling Green's Rachel Walny took home third place with a time of 20:41.9. Cizmas becomes the sixth Eagle to capture the individual title, which ties Eastern for the second-most individual champions in the conference. Additionally, the co-captain continued EMU's recent streak of champions, as Eastern harriers have captured the crown in four of the last five years.
With the victory, EMU is now tied for fourth-most in MAC cross country titles. Additionally, Eastern's four straight championships tie the most consecutive team titles in conference history, with the last streak occurring from 1989-1992 (Ohio).
Following the race, league head coaches selected Eastern Michigan’s Sue Parks as MAC Coach of the Year. This is the fifth time Coach Parks has received this honor (2003 - Ball State, 2015, 2016, 2107 - EMU).
Teams will now have about two weeks to prepare for NCAA Regionals, which take place on Friday, November 9th.
Team Scoring/Final Standings
1. Eastern Michigan -- 76
2. Toledo -- 80
3. Miami -- 97
4. Northern Illinois -- 127
5. Western Michigan -- 136
6. Central Michigan -- 142
7. Bowling Green -- 155
8. Akron -- 171
9. Ohio -- 208
10. Kent State -- 233
11. Ball State -- 305
12. Buffalo -- 335
2018 MAC Women's Cross Country All-MAC First Team
Natalie Cizmas, Eastern Michigan
Athena Welsh, Toledo
Rachel Walny, Bowling Green
Sydney Meyers, Eastern Michigan
Sarah Anderson, Western Michigan
Megan O'Neill, Central Michigan
Alesha Vovk, Miami
2018 MAC Women's Cross Country All-MAC Second Team
Ashley Tutt, Northern Illinois
Maria McDaniel, Western Michigan
Kirsten Olling, Central Michigan
Mackenzie Callahan, Northern Illinois
Alyssa Atkinson, Ohio
Emily Smith, Eastern Michigan
Juliane Sormain, Western Michigan
2018 MAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year
Sue Parks, Eastern Michigan
2018 MAC Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year
Claire Steigerwald, Toledo
