Sept. 19, 2006
Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational Notes in PDF Format
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Ranked seventh in the Great Lakes Region according to the Division I Men's Cross Country Poll, the Miami University men's cross country faces its first true test of the season when it travels to the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational Saturday, Sept. 23. Having posted back-to-back first-place finishes at each of the season's first two meets, the RedHawks are slated to hit the course in University Park, Pa. at 10:45 a.m.
LAST TIME OUT--MIAMI INVITATIONAL (SEPT. 9): Junior Michael Veatch finished as the individual champion and Miami placed five of the top seven finishers as it turned in a first-place finish at the 21st Miami Invitational. Miami tallied 17 points, just two shy of the lowest possible point total, and finished 44 points ahead of second-place Cedarville University. Veatch won his first career individual title, clocking in with a first-place time of 25:27.32, and he used a late surge in the final 200 meters to jump ahead of sophomore teammate Brad Untrauer and win the individual title by less than three seconds. Untrauer clocked in with a second-place time of 25:29.36.
MORE HARDWARE THAN HOME DEPOT: For the second consecutive week, a Miamian took home the MAC Runner of the Week award as junior Michael Veatch earned the weekly conference honor on Sept. 12. Winning his first career individual title at the 21st Miami Invitational (Sept. 9), Veatch clocked in with a first-place time of 25:27.32. The first-place showing was Veatch's second consecutive top-10 finish at the Miami Invitational after placing seventh overall last season, and it was Veatch's fourth career top-10 finish. Veatch's first-place time also helped Miami win the meet by a 44-point margin and finish with 17 points, just two shy of the lowest possible point total. Veatch became the second Miamian in as many weeks to be honored as the conference runner of the week as sophomore Brad Untrauer also won the award after finishing as the runner-up at the Dayton Flyer 5K Challenge (Sept. 2). Both weekly awards were the first of Veatch's and Untrauer's careers.
REPRESENTING THE BUCKEYE STATE: With nine runners on its roster hailing from the Buckeye State, Miami's stockpiling of homegrown talent has paid off. At both the season-opening Flyer 5K Challenge (Sept. 2) and the 21st Miami Invitational (Sept. 9), five of Miami's top seven finishers hailed from the state of Ohio, including Miami Invitational champion and Middletown native Michael Veatch. Sophomore Pat Sovacool from Lakewood also has finished in the top three at the first two meets, while Beachwood native Kevin Silver has placed in the scoring five at both meets.
YOUTH WELL SERVED: With no seniors on its 2006 roster, Miami has proved that age is only a state of mind, posting a pair of first-place team finishes at the Flyer 5K Challenge (Sept. 2) and Miami Invitational (Sept. 9). Two freshman (Kevin Silver and Adam Martin), three sophomores (Pat Sovacool, Brad Untrauer and Ryan Tamm) and one junior (Justin Campbell) have finished in Miami's scoring five this season, helping the RedHawks post back-to-back top team finishes to open the 2006 season.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Having finished among the top three in the conference for the past 10 seasons, Miami was tabbed second in the Mid-American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Despite the loss of All-Americans Dan Huling and Chris Swisher, Miami returns a young distance corps led by sophomore Pat Sovacool, a NCAA regional qualifier in the 1,500 meters during the outdoor track and field season. Miami has not finished outside the top three in the MAC since it placed sixth in 1995, and during the past 10 seasons, Miami has posted two first-place finishes, six runner-up finishes and a pair of third-place showings.
YOUTH MOVMENT: With a 15-man roster that features no seniors, Miami will be a young but talented squad in 2006. The RedHawks boast four top-25 MAC finishers from a year ago, with sophomore Brad Untrauer (19th), junior Michael Veatch (20th), sophomore Pat Sovacool (21st) and junior Justin Campbell (25th) leading the youthful RedHawks. Other athletes with the skills to consistently finish in Miami's scoring five include true freshmen Paul Krebs and Adam Martin and redshirt freshman Kevin Silver.
SOMETHING'S MISSING: After placing a pair of runners on last season's All-America team for the first time in 25 years, Miami heads into 2006 seeking to replace Chris Swisher and Dan Huling. The departure of Huling and Swisher, the 13th and 28th American finishers at the 2005 national meet, respectively, leaves a large hole to fill, but if the past is any indication, the RedHawks should be able to bounce back. The last time Miami had a pair of All-Americans was in 1980, and it went on to win the MAC title the next season.
HISTORY IS ON ITS SIDE: Despite its youth, the storied history of the Miami cross country program indicates that the RedHawks will be able to contend for a conference title in the 2006 season. Since the 1980 season, Miami has won six MAC titles and finished in the top three 18-of-25 seasons, including each of the last 10 years. Miami also has won the most all-time MAC titles of any program in the conference, as its 20 titles are six better than second-place Western Michigan's 14.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING: With its second-place finish at the 2005 conference meet, Miami extended its streak of consecutive top-three MAC finishes to 10, as it placed as the runner-up for the second time in as many years. Miami has averaged the best conference finish (second) of any MAC school over the past decade, including back-to-back conference crowns in 1997 and 1998. During head coach Warren Mandrell's tenure, the RedHawks have been the conference champion or runner-up in eight of his 12 seasons. Miami also has had one of the top two individual finishers in the conference in each of the last three seasons. David Mitchell was the MAC runner-up in both 2003 and 2004, while Dan Huling was the 2005 MAC Champion.
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