Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, November 1
Amherst, N.Y.
11:00 am
Central Michigan University
at
MAC Championship
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Cross Country Led by Young Runners as Women Take 4th, Men Take 7th at MAC Championships
11/1/2025 1:41:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Freshman Kyah Hoffman moves up to 7th all time, Sophomore Miciah Smith took home 23rd overall.
AMHERST, N.Y. — Central Michigan Cross Country took on the Mid-American Conference Championships Saturday, Nov. 1. As underclassmen, Kyah Hoffman led the women (Fr.) finishing 12th at 21:06.9 and Miciah Smith (So.) led the men, finishing 21st at 25:02.4.
Hoffman's strong performance moves her up to seventh on the women's 6k all-time list, nine seconds faster than her precious career best set at the Paul Short Classic (Oct. 3).
The men's field consisted of 10 teams, and 86 total runners; the women's side stood at 13 teams and 109 individuals.
"Really good day for both sides. We started with the men and going in, we were ranked 8th, both genders, men and women." Director of Track and Field/Cross Country said.
As a team the Chippewa women finished fourth in the field, collecting 164 points and three PRs in the process. Following Hoffman were Grace VanderKooi 36th (21:54.0), Emma Janesak 41st (22:01.9, PR), Kate Jenkins 43rd (22:05.1), and Eva Thompson 44th (22:07.0, PR).
"Our strength was like in pack. Our scores have changed so many times this year. I think that if one person has an off day, they don't have to worry because somebody else will be there and will have their back. I think that's how you build something big. I'm so excited for today and we're absolutely going to enjoy today and what we did, but also so excited for the future of this team. I'm ready to start making those next steps."
Rounding out the women's pack were: Maya Guikema 47th (22:09.3), Jessie Gibbins 60th (22:28.5), Kayla Williams 68th (22:42.0), Olivia East 69th (22:48.6), and Logan Brazee 87th (23.11.9)
"We only had three women that had ever raced at the MAC Championships out of the 10 that were there. We were a little bit like ignorance is bliss, just go out and do the best thing you can. Dance a little on the starting line and let's see what we can do today. We got beat by UMass and Buffalo at Paul Short, Miami's ranked top 10 in the region. For them to go out and get fourth, that was the best possible case scenario on the day. We had to knock it out of the park to do that; and they did that.
"I couldn't be prouder of them. 3K into the race I had tears in my eyes because I was like, oh my gosh, they're doing this. They're not messing around. To have people that just have never been there to be able to stay as composed as they did was awesome."
As a team the men took 7th with a total score of 147 points, 19 ahead of eighth-place MAC newcomer Massachusetts. Jason Fredricks took 27th (25:11.7), Ethan Leitner 29th (25:16.1), Greg Janesak 33rd (25:25.), and Joey Taverna 37th (25:29.2).
Finishing behind the Chippewas and Minutemen were Kent State and Bowling Green. Eastern Michigan took home sixth with 119 points.
Unscored Chippewa's completing the race were: Clay Kuiper 54th (26:12.7), Aiden Smith 65th (26:31.7), Mason Lucas 72nd (26:48.4, PR), Spencer Parker 81st (27:14.2), and Hong Bing Tang 85th (30:42.6)
"Really good day for both sides. We started with the men and going in, we were ranked 8th, both genders, men and women." I was talking to one of the guys on our team last week and saying, if we could match what we did last year as a team, that would be an improvement because we added UMass this year, who's good.
"If we match, that means we beat another team that we didn't beat last year. We have some guys redshirting this year that we had last year. We're down a couple of bodies and still to match what we did last year is huge. Nonetheless, like think the guys finished better than what they were supposed to do, and that was awesome. I think it was just like a good way to get the ball rolling."
"What this team did so well is just get better every single time out. A lot of teams started out really hot and at this point they're just hanging on, but we got better every single meet. And I think that bodes well for us at regionals."
Toledo took home the team and Individual championship for both the women and men. The Rockets scored 59 points in the men's race with their front runner Joad Martinho crossing the line at 23:48.5; and logged 32 points in the women's race, claiming three of the top five individuals.
"What makes me the most happy about this team is we can have a lights out day and still have fun doing it. You don't have to like shut the whole world out to run your best. You can have fun and enjoy the experience and they absolutely did that."
Hoffman's strong performance moves her up to seventh on the women's 6k all-time list, nine seconds faster than her precious career best set at the Paul Short Classic (Oct. 3).
The men's field consisted of 10 teams, and 86 total runners; the women's side stood at 13 teams and 109 individuals.
"Really good day for both sides. We started with the men and going in, we were ranked 8th, both genders, men and women." Director of Track and Field/Cross Country said.
As a team the Chippewa women finished fourth in the field, collecting 164 points and three PRs in the process. Following Hoffman were Grace VanderKooi 36th (21:54.0), Emma Janesak 41st (22:01.9, PR), Kate Jenkins 43rd (22:05.1), and Eva Thompson 44th (22:07.0, PR).
"Our strength was like in pack. Our scores have changed so many times this year. I think that if one person has an off day, they don't have to worry because somebody else will be there and will have their back. I think that's how you build something big. I'm so excited for today and we're absolutely going to enjoy today and what we did, but also so excited for the future of this team. I'm ready to start making those next steps."
Rounding out the women's pack were: Maya Guikema 47th (22:09.3), Jessie Gibbins 60th (22:28.5), Kayla Williams 68th (22:42.0), Olivia East 69th (22:48.6), and Logan Brazee 87th (23.11.9)
"We only had three women that had ever raced at the MAC Championships out of the 10 that were there. We were a little bit like ignorance is bliss, just go out and do the best thing you can. Dance a little on the starting line and let's see what we can do today. We got beat by UMass and Buffalo at Paul Short, Miami's ranked top 10 in the region. For them to go out and get fourth, that was the best possible case scenario on the day. We had to knock it out of the park to do that; and they did that.
"I couldn't be prouder of them. 3K into the race I had tears in my eyes because I was like, oh my gosh, they're doing this. They're not messing around. To have people that just have never been there to be able to stay as composed as they did was awesome."
As a team the men took 7th with a total score of 147 points, 19 ahead of eighth-place MAC newcomer Massachusetts. Jason Fredricks took 27th (25:11.7), Ethan Leitner 29th (25:16.1), Greg Janesak 33rd (25:25.), and Joey Taverna 37th (25:29.2).
Finishing behind the Chippewas and Minutemen were Kent State and Bowling Green. Eastern Michigan took home sixth with 119 points.
Unscored Chippewa's completing the race were: Clay Kuiper 54th (26:12.7), Aiden Smith 65th (26:31.7), Mason Lucas 72nd (26:48.4, PR), Spencer Parker 81st (27:14.2), and Hong Bing Tang 85th (30:42.6)
"Really good day for both sides. We started with the men and going in, we were ranked 8th, both genders, men and women." I was talking to one of the guys on our team last week and saying, if we could match what we did last year as a team, that would be an improvement because we added UMass this year, who's good.
"If we match, that means we beat another team that we didn't beat last year. We have some guys redshirting this year that we had last year. We're down a couple of bodies and still to match what we did last year is huge. Nonetheless, like think the guys finished better than what they were supposed to do, and that was awesome. I think it was just like a good way to get the ball rolling."
"What this team did so well is just get better every single time out. A lot of teams started out really hot and at this point they're just hanging on, but we got better every single meet. And I think that bodes well for us at regionals."
Toledo took home the team and Individual championship for both the women and men. The Rockets scored 59 points in the men's race with their front runner Joad Martinho crossing the line at 23:48.5; and logged 32 points in the women's race, claiming three of the top five individuals.
"What makes me the most happy about this team is we can have a lights out day and still have fun doing it. You don't have to like shut the whole world out to run your best. You can have fun and enjoy the experience and they absolutely did that."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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