Oct. 25, 2005

Weekly Cross Country Notes in PDF Format
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With the Mid-American Conference title at stake, the Miami women's cross country team travels to the MAC Championship in DeKalb, Ill., on Oct. 29 seeking to improve on their sixth-place finish at the 2004 race. Picked to finish fifth in preseason coaches poll, the RedHawks finally boast a healthy squad that looks to finish among the top four in the conference for the 14th time in the past 22 seasons.

FIVE IN A ROW: Sophomore Jennie Stoll was the first Miami runner across the line at the Pre-National meet on Oct. 15, the fifth-consecutive race that she has been the top team finisher. Running in the first 6K race of the season at Terre Haute, Ind., Stoll posted a 81st-place finish, clocking in at 21:55. Her top finish marked the eighth time in her career she was the top Miami finisher, and dating back to last season's Great Lakes Regional, Stoll has been the top Miami finisher in each of the last six races she has participated in--excluding the season opening Flyer 5K Challenge which she sat out because of an injury. During the 2004 season, Stoll was the top RedHawk runner on three occasions at the Cedarville Invitational, Pre-NCAA Invitational and Great Lakes Regional.

HITTING HER STRIDE: An All-MAC Second Team selection in her first collegiate season, sophomore Carol Eckerly posted her best team finish (second) at the Pre-National meet since the season-opening Dayton Flyer 5K Challenge. Eckerly has finished among the top four RedHawks in every race this season, but she flashed her 2004 form as her time was just 15 seconds of the pace of sophomore Jennie Stoll, the top team finisher.

HEALTHY HAWKS: After missing the first three races of the season because of an injury, senior Kelly Ardelean showed that she is helathy heading in to the MAC meet by clocking in at 23:13 at the Pre-Nationals. Ardelean posted a time of 19:15 at the 5,000-meter mark of the Pre-National meet, a six second improvement over her 5K time at the Notre Dame Invitational (Sept. 30) and 37 seconds better than her 5K time at the All-Ohio meet (Oct. 7).

REMEMBER WHEN: Last season at the MAC Championship, the RedHawks finished sixth (134 points) as Carol Eckerly was the top Miami finisher in seventh place. Jennie Stoll finished second on the team behind Eckerly as she posted a 19th-place finish.

LAST WEEK AT THE PRE-NATIONAL MEET: Running against 10 nationally-ranked teams in the White Race at the Pre-Nationals, the Miami RedHawks finished in 27th place out of a 34-team field at Indiana State. Led by sophomore Jennie Stoll's 81st-place finish, Miami bested one Mid-American Conference foe, the Ohio Bobcats, and its in-state rival, the Cincinnati Bearcats, at the 6K LaVern Gibson Championship Course.

Stoll was the top Miami finisher for the fifth-consecutive race as she clocked in at 21:55. Sophomore Carol Eckerly flashed the form that made her a 2004 All-MAC Second Team selection as she finished second on the team and 103rd overall, turning in a time of 22:11. Behind Eckerly, sophomore Sarah Henize was the third Miami scorer as she posted time of 22:30 and finished in 131st place. Seniors Kristen Proach and Kelly Ardelean rounded out the RedHawks' scoring five as they finished 181st and 184th, respectively. Proach clocked in at 23:10, while Ardelean finished the course in 23:14. At the Pre-National meet, 10 of the top 11 finishers were nationally ranked, and the top four finishers were all ranked in the top 10 by the FinishLynx National Poll.

FLASHBACK TO THE MAC CHAMPIONSHIP: At the 2004 MAC Championship, a group of five runners in their first season as part of the Miami women's cross country team represented Miami's scorers as the team came in sixth at the MAC Championships. The finish was just one spot lower than 2003 when Miami boasted all-American Andrea Kremer as its lead runner. This time around, Carol Eckerly was the first Miamian across the tape for the fourth time this year as she came in seventh overall in 18:30.20, earning her a spot on the second all-MAC team. Jennie Stoll continued her string of finishing in the top two among her teammates in every race this season, coming in 19th overall in 18:56.00. Kristen Proach , in her first year on the team, finished 29th overall in 19:07.60, while Tricia Frisella , who came in 36th in 19:17.10 and Sarah Henize completed the scoring for Miami in 43rd place in 19:28.50.

2004 RECAP: In 2004, Miami finished sixth at the Mid-American Conference Championship as Carol Eckerly (seventh place) and Jennie Stoll (19th place) paced the RedHawks. Miami began its season by winning its first three meets--the Dayton Flyer Invitational, the Miami Invitational and the Cedarville Invitational--and a young RedHawks' squad that featured six freshman placed 12th at the Great Lakes Regional. Stoll was the top finisher (12th) at the regional meet while Eckerly was the only Miami runner to earn MAC honors (second-team) by virtue of her seventh-place finish at the conference meet.