MOUNT PLEASANT - The Rockets raced their way into the history books on Saturday as the women's cross country team won the program's sixth Mid-American Conference championship. UT tallied a team score of 48 with five runners finishing inside the top 15.
Senior Mackenzie Chojnacky paced Toledo with a fourth place finish and a time of 20:30. Also placing in the top 10 for the No. 27 Rockets was senior Brooke Tullis (8th place) and sophomore Janelle Noe (10th place). Senior Cara DeAngelis finished in 21:12 and placed 12th while senior Liz Weiler followed closely with a 14th place finish.
"The women ran well today and were able to come home with a title," UT head coach Linh Nguyen said. "There was a lot of motivation for the meet this year. We knew with the smaller field that getting toward the front and staying tight was going to be key. I was really proud of the women and how they fought on the course. This team is full of some pretty great people and it's nice to see good things happen for them."
Toledo's title is it's fourth in the last five seasons and Toledo's Linh Nguyen was named Women's Coach of the Year. The honor was selected by the leagues head coaches following today's championship races.
"This award really has the wrong name because this is an award actually won by the team," Nguyen said. "It's given to me but earned by those women who train hard every day and toe the line at the races. I thank them for being great student athletes who are a joy to coach. I thank them for giving Toledo the best they have each and every day."
Eastern Michigan's Victoria Voronko claimed her first women's individual title with a MAC record time of 20.21. Western Michigan freshman Maria McDaniel finished second with a time of 20:26, Sofie Gallein of EMU took home the bronze with a time of 20:28.
The men's squad placed eighth in their race on Saturday. Senior Jake Kasperski paced the team with a 30th place finish and official time of 25:26. Junior Adam Bess placed 37th while senior Adam Smercina finished just behind his teammate in 38th place.
"The end result wasn't what we wanted today but I'm proud of the men for the way they attacked the race," Nguyen said. "There was no fear today and they put themselves in the race early and went for it. Sometimes you do that and it doesn't quite work out but you have to give yourself a chance to succeed. We've seen a lot of positive growth this season and we have another shot in two weeks."
Eastern Michigan's Willy Fink claimed his first men's individual title with a time of 24:15. Fellow Eagle, Lahsene Bouchikhi, finished in second with a time a of 24:20, while Miami's Joseph Stewart crossed the finish line in third with a time of 24:21.
UT WOMEN'S INDIVDUAL RESULTS
4. Mackenzie Chojnacky, 20:30
8. Brooke Tullis, 20:56
10. Janelle Noe, 21:06
12. Cara Deangelis, 21:12
14. Liz Weiler, 21:14
18. Megan Gaysunas, 21:24
20. Priscilla Timmons, 21:26
UT MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
30. Jake Kasperski, 25:26
37. Adam Bess, 25:36
38. Adam Smercina, 25:39
51. Louis Guardiola, 26:11
54. Matt Leis, 26:20
57. Thomas Gibbons, 26:34
60. Clinton Caddell, 27:03
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. 48 Toledo
2. 69 Eastern Michigan
3. 103 Miami (Ohio)
4. 127 Bowling Green
5. 155 Central Michigan
6. 183 Western Michigan
7. 187 Buffalo
8. 202 Kent State
9. 212 Northern Illinois
10. 231 Ohio U.
11. 258 Akron
12. 359 Ball State
MEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. 23 Eastern Michigan
2. 49 Akron
3. 99 Central Michigan
4. 102 Buffalo
5. 121 Ohio U.
6. 166 Kent State
7. 181 Miami (Ohio)
8. 210 Toledo
9. 276 Bowling Green
