Oct. 11, 2006
Pre-Nationals Weekly Notes in PDF Format
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In its final meet prior to the Mid-American Conference Championships, the Miami University men's cross country team travels to the 2006 Pre-Nationals Saturday, October 14 in Terre Haute, Ind. A record 192 teams, including 89 men's and 94 women's squads, are slated to compete in six different races at the LaVern Gibson Course, which also serves as the host site for the 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championship.
LAST TIME OUT - ALL-OHIO CHAMPIONSHIP (OCT. 6): Placing three runners in the meet's top 20, Miami placed fourth in a 42-team field at the All-Ohio Championship. With junior Michael Veatch as the top RedHawk finisher in eighth place, Miami finished ahead of three Mid-American Conference schools--Ohio, Akron and Bowling Green. Veatch was the top Miamian for the second time this season, clocking in with an eight-place time of 26:05. For Veatch, it was his third top-ten individual finish of the season.
RANKED REDHAWKS: Regionally ranked since the USTFCCCA preseason polls came out, Miami continues to hold its spot among the top 15 schools in the Great Lakes Region. After beginning the year ranked seventh, Miami moved down to No. 11 for the weeks of Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, and this week checks in at No. 14. As one of the toughest regions in the nation, the top six teams in the Great Lakes region are all nationally ranked, including top-ranked Wisconsin.
WHO'S NUMBER ONE: Over the season's first four races, three different runners have finished as the top Miamians, including junior Michael Veatch at last weekend's All-Ohio Championship. Veatch has twice paced the RedHawks, placing first at the Miami Invitational and eighth at the All-Ohio. In addition to Veatch, sophomore Pat Sovacool also posted a top team finish at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational (Sept. 23), finishing sixth overall, while sophomore Brad Untrauer was the top Miamian in second place at the season-opening Flyer 5K Challenge (Sept. 2). All three runners also have earned MAC Runner of the Week honors once during the 2006 season.
MORE HARDWARE THAN HOME DEPOT: A Miamian has taken home the MAC Runner of the Week award three times this season, with the latest being sophomore Pat Sovacool on Sept. 26. Sovacool earned the award after pacing Miami with a sixth-place finish at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational, joining teammates Brad Untrauer and Michael Veatch as MAC Runners of the Week. Untrauer won the weekly award after finishing second at the season-opening Flyer 5K Challenge, while Veatch earned the honor after winning the Miami Invitational. Miami has won three of the six MAC Runner of the Week awards handed out this season.
HOMEGROWN TALENT: With nine runners on its roster hailing from the Buckeye State, Miami's stockpiling of homegrown talent has paid off. At each of the season's first four meets, at least five of Miami's top seven finishers have hailed from the state of Ohio, including Miami Invitational champion and Middletown native Michael Veatch. Lakewood native sophomore Pat Sovacool, who was tabbed as the MAC Runner of the Week on Sept. 26, also has finished among the top 15 at each of the first four meets, while Beachwood native Kevin Silver has placed in the scoring five at all four of Miami's 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), a third-place finish at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational (Sept. 23) and a fourth-place finish at the All-Ohio Championship (Oct. 6). Three freshman (Paul Krebs, Kevin Silver, Adam Martin), three sophomores (Pat Sovacool, Brad Untrauer, Ryan Tamm) and one junior (Justin Campbell) have finished in Miami's scoring five this season, helping the RedHawks to a No. 14 ranking in the Great Lakes Region.
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 figures to once again challenge for the MAC title, as it has not finished outside the top three in the MAC since 1995. During the past 10 seasons, Miami has posted two first-place finishes, six runner-up finishes and a pair of third-place showings.
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 (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. 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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