Kent State Men's Cross Country Team Ties for Second at MAC Championships
10/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- A third-place finish by senior men's cross country runner Scott Hilditch (Stow, Ohio) helped Kent State tie for second place as a team today (Oct. 30) in the 8K race at the 2010 Mid-American Conference Championships, hosted by Western Michigan at Pine View Golf Club.
Hilditch clocked a 24:45.2 as the Golden Flashes totaled 94 points to match Miami for a runner-up finish. Kent State's women's squad took ninth as a team in the 6K with 254 points.
"Scott wanted to get out and put himself in a position to possibly win in," said head coach Mark Croghan. "He did a great job of maintaining his position in the top three and finishing up strong."
Hilditch was joined on the All-MAC team by redshirt sophomore Michael Heller (Stow, Ohio), who took 11th place with a time of 25:06.3. Sophomore Steve Fischer (Hudson, Ohio) also earned a top-20 finish, placing 17th in 25:16.5. Redshirt sophomore Colin Pettiford (Toledo, Ohio) crossed the finish line in 25:36.6 to finish 28th. Sophomore Kiplangat Tisia (Koiybey, Kenya) recorded a time of 25:42.2 for 35th. Redshirt freshman Daniel Bullard (North Olmsted, Ohio) clocked a 26:49.2 to finish 50th. Freshman Andrew Goodwin (Celina, Ohio) rounded out the Kent State contingency with a 59th-place finish in 27:01.6.
"Mike ran a real smart race," said Croghan. "Fischer and Pettiford got out and ran with each other from the get-go. Both those guys really stepped up. When you're as close as us and Miami were, every place is huge and every point counts. The fact that those guys finished as strongly as they did was really the difference between finishing second and finishing third."
Senior Kassandra Meholick (New Cumberland, Ohio) was Kent State's top finisher on the women's side, finishing 36th with a time of 22:20.8. Fifth-year senior Jessica Lhotsky (Medina, Ohio) timed in at 22:33.2. Senior Allison Krupko (Homeworth, Ohio) posted a 22:40.2 for 44th place. Redshirt freshman Hannah Spicer (Canal Winchester, Ohio) took 66th in 23:13.3. Sophomore Melinda Sawnor (Rochester, N.Y.) timed in at 23:18.7 for 67th. Junior Audrey Maheu (Bristolville, Ohio) placed 68th in 23:23.9. Sophomore Brianna Jones (Aurora, Ohio) posted a 24:20.2 to finish in 81st place. Freshman Katelyn Jacobson Bio">Katelyn Jacobson (Carrollton, Ohio) also competed for the Golden Flashes, posting a time of 26:09.4.
"It was very disappointing," said Croghan of the women's race. "I think we're a better team than that. We didn't really give ourselves a chance to get it done today."
The NCAA's cross country postseason begins Nov. 13 with the Great Lakes Regional in Rochester, Mich.
