MAC Championships Complete Results
MUNCIE, Ind. - Central Michigan sophomore Tecumseh Adams is the Mid-American Conference Champion in cross country, and the men’s team finished second overall at the MAC Championship race in Muncie, Ind., Saturday morning.
Adams crossed the line at the end of the 8K race in a career-best 24:01.6, defeating runner-up and 2010 MAC champion Terefe Ejiguv of Eastern Michigan by nearly 15 seconds.
His previous career-best was 24:26 at the Spartan Invitational earlier this season.
Adams is the tenth CMU men's cross country runner to earn the distinction of MAC Champion, and the first since Tristen Perlberg in 2004.
Led by Adams, the squad finished second among the field of nine teams with 78 points. The Chippewas finished just 10 points behind Eastern Michigan, and 13 points ahead of third-place Buffalo, and finished six spots higher in the conference than last season.
"Today we fell just a little short of our team goals," said CMU director of track and field/cross country Willie Randolph. "However, they left it all on the course and that's all we could ask for. We are proud of them and are still looking forward to finishing the season strong at regionals in two weeks.
Having an individual champ in Tecumseh Adams and two runner-up team finishes speaks volumes of our recruitment on both sides. Being a young team on both sides makes it even more exciting for the future. I am extremely proud of Coach Kaczor and Coach Paulsen for their hard work and dedication."
Adams and junior Jason Drudge, who finished sixth overall, earned All-MAC first-team honors. Drudge also recorded a personal best time of 24:41.8.
Sophomore Nathan Huff beat his own career 8K record by almost a minute to finish in 17th place with a time of 24:59, just three spots shy of All-MAC second-team honors. His previous best was a 25:58 at the Notre Dame Invitational earlier this season.
Junior Matthew Lutzke finished 25th in 25:12.4, followed closely in 29th by redshirt freshman Tanner Pesonen in a career-best 25:14.9. Redshirt freshmen Ethan Lievense and Kyle Stacks rounded out the CMU top seven with 30th and 31st place finishes, respectively.
Lievense crossed the line in a career-fastest 25:19.7, followed by Stacks just a half-second later in a career-best 25:20.2.
The cross country team is in action again Saturday, Nov. 12, in Toledo for NCAA Regionals. Race times have yet to be announced.
