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Fast Pack Leads Men To First MAC Championship In Program History
Senior Frank Eanes earned his second straight MAC Runner of the Year award Saturday, leading a pack that took six of the top 10 places.

Lancaster, PA — History was made at Saturday’s Middle Atlantic Conference Cross County Championships, as the Messiah College men captured its first-ever team title at Lancaster Park.

Senior Frank Eanes collected his second straight individual championship — and MAC Runner of the Year award — in leading a remarkable top six finishers for the Falcons, as Messiah claimed six of the top 10 places.

Messiah’s women fell just short of the team championship, falling to host Elizabethtown College by the narrowest of margins. Messiah (49 points) was led by senior individual medalist and MAC Runner of the Year Jennifer Kooser, but Elizabethtown (43 points) was able to pack the top 10 with four of its athletes. Messiah’s second runner was freshman Mary Higgins (earning MAC Rookie of the Year honors) who finished 10th overall.

“Our men went out confidently today and stayed out,” said Messiah head coach Dale Fogelsanger, who was named MAC Coach of the Year on the men’s side. “I thought we ran a very disciplined race on a course that required that.”

With Lancaster Park’s course featuring a series of single-lane troughs, natural steps formed by logs and rough terrain in select areas, tactical running was of utmost importance. It was for this reason that Fogelsanger had his top runners complete a practice race on the course last weekend, holding most of the Falcons’ top athletes out of E’Town’s ‘Battle for the Buggy,’ an event ran on a different, more wide-open terrain.

That decision paid off for the men, as Eanes (26:52.36) was complemented by freshman and MAC Rookie of the Year Tyler Newhook (second overall, 27:36.83). A trio of juniors then filled spots seven through nine, as Jeffrey Smeiles (27:57.77), Cory Kaufman (27:59.72) and Peter Shenk (28:00.51) proved savvy. Sophomore Ryan Pastore then finished in 10th place overall (28:12.93), giving Messiah six of the 10 First Team All-MAC awards and a low team score of just 27 points. Runner-up Elizabethtown finished with 36 points.

“I thought the experience of our upperclassmen allowed us to get ahead,” Fogelsanger said. “Our junior pack was really selective on when to get out. It’s a course with a lot of no-passing lanes, so you have to be smart. I thought we ran a very intelligent race today.”

The Falcons’ women followed up its '07 second-place performance with another close call Saturday, as Kooser’s time of 22:40.87 was over a minute quicker than her 2007 runner-up finish at Delaware Valley College. Higgins ran a 24:03.29 pace to give Messiah its two First Team All-MAC award winners. Junior Inna Potekhina (11th overall, 24:17.43), junior Erin Rhodes (13th overall, 24:31.42), freshman Courtney Long (14th overall, 24:36.69), freshman Brooke Airey (16th overall 24:37.82) and junior Sara Clemmer (19th overall, 24:59.05) all claimed Second Team All-MAC honors, rounding off Messiah’s scoring.

Messiah failed to add to its collection of five MAC Championships Saturday, as the team captured the crown in 1987, 1988, 2003, 2005 and 2006.

“E’Town’s (women’s) pack just got ahead of our pack, and that’s how you win cross country races,” Fogelsanger said. “I think maybe our women went out a bit too hard for the heat. They raced at noon, and it was sunny and warm compared to the weather we’ve been training in for the last couple weeks. I think we may have just gone out too fast.”

The squads will next compete in the NCAA Mideast Regional competition for a chance to participate in the NCAA National Championships. The regional race — held at Waynesburg College — will be a familiar venue for the teams, as Messiah participated in the Waynesburg Invitational back on Sept. 13.

Messiah will need to finish in the top two teams at the regional in order to secure an automatic team bid to national competition, though historically the Mideast regional has produced three to four teams annually. Those at-large bids are selected by a committee following the completion of all regional meets across the country. In addition to the team selection, the top seven individuals not on a national-attending team also qualify for the big race.

Fogelsanger said the regional track at Waynesburg is a more wide-open course, and expects times to be even lower.

“Both teams will definitely rise to the occasion,” he said.

The NCAA Mideast Regional will take place Saturday, Nov. 15 with the men’s race beginning at 11 a.m. and the women’s race at 12 noon.