Women's Cross Country Picked to Win MAC
 
Men predicted to finish fifth in preseason poll
 
 
 

 
Reinhart looks to lead Bobcats to another MAC title in 2007
 
 

Aug. 16, 2007

Cleveland, Ohio - The Ohio women's cross country team has been selected as the favorite to win the 2007 Mid-American Conference Championship, while the Ohio men's cross country team was picked to finish fifth, in the 2007 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The women's team won their ninth MAC Championship in 2006 and will be looking to capture a league-record 10th cross country title this year.

Head Coach Clay Calkins, fresh off capturing the 2006 Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year award, returns three All-MAC performers from last year's championship squad. Headlining the returnees is first-team All-MAC selection Carime Reinhart. Reinhart returns for her senior season after winning the individual title with the fastest time (20:02.90) at the 2006 MAC Championship. Reinhart placed first among 101 women in the 5k conference championship and then went on to finish 19th with a time of 21:50.60 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, just 38.44 seconds shy of qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

Joining Reinhart will be All-MAC First Team selection Kari Summers and second-team All-MAC honoree Annie Beechman. Both Summers and Beechman finished in the top 15 at the 2006 MAC Championship and each faired well at the NCAA Regional. Summers, a sophomore from Troy, Ohio, placed 36th in the regional with a time of 22:17.95 and fellow sophomore Beechman, from Granville, Ohio, finished 70th.

The Ohio women are followed in the preseason poll by Akron and Bowling Green. Last year Bowling Green finished a distant second to the Bobcats in the championship, totaling 113 points to Ohio's 37. The rest of the poll is rounded out by Toledo (fourth), Ball State (fifth), Miami (sixth), Western Michigan (seventh), Central Michigan (eighth), Eastern Michigan (ninth), Kent State (10th), Buffalo (11th) and Northern Illinois (12th).
 

 

On the men's side Ohio was selected to finish fifth, behind Eastern Michigan (first), Kent State (second), Central Michigan (fourth) and Miami (fifth). The men's team placed fifth in the 2006 MAC Championship and the Bobcats have their top finisher returning in 2006 second-team All-MAC selection Brian King. King finished 13th at last year's MAC Championship with a time of 28:26.10 in the 8k race. Junior Shamus Eaton also returns for the Bobcats, after finishing 16th with a time of 28:32.55 in the championship. Eaton's 16th place finish was just two spots away from earning him second-team honors.

The men's team is followed by Akron (sixth), Bowling Green (seventh), Buffalo (eighth) and Toledo (ninth) in the preseason poll.

The Ohio cross country teams will get their 2007 seasons under way with the annual Green & White Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 8, beginning at 10:30 a.m.