For the first time since the 2007 Michigan Intercollegiate 8K Championships, it was junior Riak Mabil who led the men’s cross country team at the Spartan Invitational Friday.

Mabil finished 24th overall in 26 minutes, 1 second in the unscored invitational in East Lansing.

“He knew that he needed to be one of our leaders. He couldn’t be afraid to step up anymore,” said assistant coach Matt Kaczor. “We can’t afford to have him sit back where he was so we had him go out with the leaders.”

CMU competed without Sammy Kiprotich, its top runner, but his teammates stepped up in his absence. Freshman Matt Lutzke took the second spot for CMU as he did last week. Lutzke finished 33rd overall, though he saw places for himself to improve.

“It was good and bad for me. I got a lot of experience,” Lutzke said. “I just didn’t have it in the middle of the race. I think I could have gotten another 10 spots or so with that middle of the race.”

Jeremy Kiley was a pleasant surprise for the Chippewas. The sophomore finished 48th, just behind fellow CMU runner Chris Pankow in 46th.

“He’s been slowly but surely stepping up,” Kaczor said. “A couple of the guys haven’t been where they should be, but he has been improving. Last week at Purdue and this week he proved it.”

CMU showcased its best pack running of the season. Its top four runners finished within one minute of each other for the first time.

“We’re starting to move as a team,” Kaczor said. “The guys are closing that gap.”

Lutzke also noticed his teammates near him and he said it motivated him.

“We ran together and I saw my teammates with me and running past me,” Lutzke said. “It was really nice to see that.”

Michigan dominated the unscored meet, taking the top four spots and eight of the top 12 finishes.

U-M was led by sophomore Craian Olionard, who crossed the finish in 24:44 and senior Lex WIlliams, who finished second in 24:52.

Michigan State also showed strong early-season form. For the second time this season, the Spartans showed stronger team depth against CMU. The Spartans held seven of the top 16 finishes.

CMU is off until Oct. 3, when they travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invitational. However, Kaczor said the break comes at a good time.

“It will hopefully get us a lot healthier. We got guys that are sick and hurt,” he said. “I’m hoping this will be a good time for guys to kind of evaluate where they are and what the little things guys need to work on right now.”

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E-mail the author: Matthew Valinski