CMU Men 7th, Women 8th in MAC Cross Country Championships - Central Michigan University Athletics

Friday, October 30

Kalamazoo, Mich

11:00 a.m.

Central Michigan University

MAC Championships

Results Championship Central

Photo by: Brayden Gallagher

Photo by: Brayden Gallagher

Photo by: Brayden Gallagher

Photo by: Brayden Gallagher

Photo by: Brayden Gallagher

10/30/2026 3:30:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Championship Results Photo Gallery

Carmody leads Chippewa men with 15th-place finish; Hoffman paces CMU women

By: Andy Sneddon

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Central Michigan's Nate Carmody placed 15^th in the men's race and Kyah Hoffman was 21^st in the women's race on Friday at the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championships at The Prairies Golf Course.

The Chippewa men finished seventh and the women were eighth. Ten teams comprised the men's event, while the women's event comprised 12 teams.

Carmody, a junior from Haslett in his first season at CMU after transferring from Lansing CC, finished the 8K men's race in 24:29.2.

He missed out on earning All-MAC Second Team honors by one place. Kian Wiles of Eastern Michigan claimed the final spot on the squad as he finished 14^th in 24:28.6.

Also for the CMU men, Blake Chipman finished 33^rd, Miciah Smith was 38^th, Greg Janesak was 49^th, Aidan Smith placed 76^th, Aiden Weller was 79^th, and Pierce Scheffler came in 80^th.

"(Carmody) went for it," CMU coach Jenny Swieton said. "He tried; so close, just missed All-MAC, but it was a really great race for him.

"Chipman, Smith and Janesak have been solid all year. We're really, really happy with how they ran. Aiden Smith scored, and I think this was his first time scoring in our top five at the MAC and he's a senior, so that's a big accomplishment and a good way to go out.

"Overall, we're pretty happy with how we did. We know we want to move up and be better and finish higher as a team. We know that we have the pieces that we need to get there. In the end. I'm just really happy with how everybody competed."

Hoffman, a sophomore from Orleans, crossed the finish line in a personal-best 20:57.

Also for the CMU women, Maya Guikema placed 39^th, Grace VanderKooi placed 47^th, Eva Thompson was 48^th, Emma Janesak placed 57^th, Miranda McNeil was 67^th, and Emma Netzel placed 71^st.

The Chippewas finished with a 197 team total, just three points ahead of ninth-place Miami (Ohio).

"We came into this meet knowing that the MAC is the best that it's ever been, so we really didn't know what to expect as far as a finish," Swieton said. "I'm really, really happy with how the women raced. They've gotten exponentially better every single meet, and we had a ton of season bests today.

"They did such a great job of racing with each other and working together as a team. Normally you're not happy with eighth place, but I'm really happy with that finish because we're still such a young team and it shows how good we're going to be in the future.

"It was also really cool to see people like Miranda McNeil and Emma Netzel make a difference in their first MAC meet ever. Their places really mattered for team placement; it was really important and that helped us finish ahead of Miami. We're returning our top four, which is really awesome for next year."

Toledo swept the team titles, winning the women's crown for a record sixth consecutive time.

The Rocket women, who are ranked 12^th nationally, placed five runners among the top nine behind individual winner Mercy Jebitok (19:19.9).

The Toledo men swept the top three spots and placed five runners in the top eight. The Rockets' Patrick Kiprop won in 23:20.9.