Sports Update: Mabil finishes runner-up at MAC Championships
The CMU men’s and women’s cross country teams braved sloppy weather conditions Saturday to finish with solid individual and team performances at the Mid-American Conference Championships in Athens, Ohio.
The men finished third, behind last year’s champion Eastern Michigan and winner Kent State, with strong performances from senior Riak Mabil (second, 25 minutes, 41 seconds) and junior Sammy Kiprotich (seventh, 26:07).
Both men were named first team All-MAC, the second straight year Kiprotich has earned the honor.
“Riak went out from the gun and he went out to win,” said cross country director Willie Randolph.
Sophomore Matt Lutzke (26:20) finished 11th overall and earned second team all-conference honors.
“I was pretty happy with my individual race,” Lutzke said. “I pretty much put it all out on the course today.”
The women also had a solid team performance, finishing fourth for the second consecutive year. Junior Melissa Darling (22:35) placed seventh, earning first team all-conference honors.
“It was a great team effort, considering how young they are,” Randolph said. “She (Darling) ran great. She was ruthless from the beginning and kept pressing.”
Check Monday’s CM Life for full recaps on both races.
