Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Finish Second at MAC Championships
10/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
MAC Championships Complete Results
MUNCIE, Ind. - Central Michigan junior Charnele Lyons had the race of her life in leading the women’s cross country team to its second consecutive runner-up finish at the MAC Championships in Muncie, Ind., on Saturday afternoon.
Lyons finished in sixth place in the 6K race in a career-best 21:13.9, beating her previous record of 22:07 set earlier this season at the Spartan Invitational by nearly a minute.
As a team, the Chippewas finished second with 73 points, trailing MAC champion Toledo by 40 points. CMU finished ten points ahead of third-place Miami.
Juli Accurso of Ohio University won the race with a time of 20:35.3.
"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."
Lyons led a group of three Chippewas who earned All-MAC honors. Lyons earned first-team distinction, while sophomore Krista Parks and junior Holly Anderson were selected for second-team honors with 10th and 11th place finishes, respectively.
Parks finished in a season-best 21:24.6, while Anderson finished in 21:31.3.
Senior Raeanne Lohner turned in a 16th place finish in a time of 21:46.
Freshman Breanne Lesnar rounded out the top five for the Chippewas with a 30th place finish in 22:14.1, followed extremely closely by senior Veronica Garcia in 31st with a career-best time of 22:14.7.
The cross country team is in action again Saturday, Nov. 12, in Toledo for NCAA Regionals. Race times have yet to be announced.
