MOUNT PLEASANT -- It’s championship week for Mid-American Conference cross country teams as the Central Michigan University Chippewas are set to host the 2007 MAC Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27.

Riverwood Resort in Mount Pleasant is the host of the women’s 5K and the men’s 8K. Action begins at 11 a.m. with women’s race while the men begin at noon.

“We’re ready,” coach Craig Fuller said. “I’m confident this is going to be our best race of the year. We always look to peak at this time of the year and we are going to need some people to come through if we expect to contend for the team title.”

CMU finished second last season behind Eastern Michigan which won its second straight title after the Chippewas won three straight from 2000 to 2004. In fact, either CMU or EMU has won the meet since 1999. The Chippewas have won the MAC title seven times overall and a CMU athlete has won the individual championship nine times, the most recent being Tristen Perlberg in 2004.

“It is going to be an exciting team race,” Fuller said. “Miami has been good all year and Eastern Michigan returns five All-MAC runners.”

The Chippewas haven’t had the luxury of hosting the league meet since 1993 and being the home team has its advantages.

“Our guys get to sleep in their own beds and eat what they want which helps,” Fuller said. “Plus, we know the course and the different distances between marks. The course is soft and slow and we like that.”

The Chippewas return second team All-MAC selection Matt Loiselle who placed eighth last season. However, he’s been slowed by an illness this season and has competed in just one meet this year, the recent Great American Cross Country Festival.

“A lot of guys begin to fade at this time of the year but Matt is in a position where he is on the upswing,” Fuller said. “He has a great attitude about the situation and has looked good this week. He could be in the mix for the individual title on Saturday.”

The Chippewas are also expecting big things from freshman Sammy Kiprotich and senior Andrew Manning, who earned second team All-MAC honors last season with an 11th-place finish.

“If Manning can step up like he did last year and we get another guy to do the same we could be right up there,” Fuller said.

The Chippewas are coming off a first-place team finish at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Hoover, Ala., on Oct. 13. CMU repeated its team title from the previous year as the Chippewas placed first of four collegiate teams in the Nike Race of Champions.

Kiprotich was third overall with an 8K time of 25:54 and Loiselle was right behind in fourth (26:03). Four others placed in the top 10, including Donnie Richmond in fifth (26:04), Riak Mabil sixth (26:10), Cory Arnold eighth (26:25) and Manning ninth (26:34).

Chippewas Ranked Regionally: CMU is ranked 14th in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Great Lakes Regional poll. Wisconsin is ranked No. 1 regionally and sixth nationally. Eastern Michigan is sixth regionally followed by fellow MAC foes Miami (7th) and Ohio (12th). Kent State is ranked 15th.