Sept. 16, 2008

After two early-season wins, the Miami University men's cross country team is ranked seventh in the Great Lakes Region, according to the USTFCCCA (United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association).

The RedHawks are the highest-ranked Mid-American Conference team and are just behind Michigan, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Indiana and Marquette for the region's top spot.

Miami head coach Warren Mandrell commented on what one can extrapolate from the region's rankings.

"This region, generally, gets five or six teams into the NCAA Championships, so our rank of seventh means that we are right there in the mix for an NCAA berth," stated Mandrell.

The RedHawks split with fourth-ranked Michigan State in two competitions a year ago and finished ahead of sixth-ranked Marquette at last year's regionals.

"There could be a lot of movement between the fourth and seventh ranked teams and I think we can run even better," said the Miami head coach.

Miami won the Dayton 5K Challenge on Aug. 30 over Cincinnati, Xavier and Dayton, among others. On Sept. 5, the RedHawks won the Great American Legends Invitational at Purdue over the Boilermakers, Ohio State, and Butler.

Senior Pat Sovacool has, once again, headlined the Miami runners, winning both events, while junior Kevin Silver has been right on his heels, finished third and second, respectively, in the first two races.

The RedHawks are deep, with seven strong runners that can contribute to scoring at any particular meet.

Miami will look to continue its winning trend when the RedHawks travel to the University of Tennessee Invitational on Sept. 19 with the gun sounding at 6:15 p.m. CT.