MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ohio men's and women's cross country teams had four athletes earn All-MAC honors at the 2024 Mid-American Conference Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2.
The women's team earned an impressive second-place finish in the 6k race, placing ahead of Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Ball State, Akron, Miami (OH), Buffalo, Kent State and Northern Illinois. The men's team placed fifth overall ahead of Akron, Central Michigan, Kent State and Bowling Green.
On the women's side, junior
Leila Boussedra (Worthington, Ohio), senior
Kelsi Harris (Liberty Township, Ohio) and junior
Allie Martin (Kingwood, W. Va.) earned All-MAC Second Team honors. Sophomore
Andrew Bracken's (Westerville, Ohio) performance placed him on the All-MAC Second Team and was the only member of the men's team to earn conference honors. This marks the first time that Harris, Martin and Bracken have received All-MAC cross country honors. Boussedra has now earned a spot on the All-MAC Second Team for three-straight seasons.
Boussedra led the Bobcats in the women's 6k race with a team best finish. The junior placed eighth overall with a time of 20:47.4. Harris (20:53.1, PR) and Martin (20:53.4, PR) both ran personal-best times to help them placed 12
th and 13
th, respectively. Freshman
Kaitlyn Stewart (Floyd Knobs, Ind.) raced in her debut conference meet. Stewart placed 19
th overall with a time of 21:20.9. Junior
Alyssa Mason (Dublin, Ohio) rounded out Ohio's top five performers with a 32
nd place finish and time of 21:55.4.
Bracken led the Bobcats in the men's 8k race with a top 10 finish. The sophomore placed 10
th overall and recorded a team-best time of 24:33.8. Sophomore
Charlie Slates (Gahanna, Ohio) was the second Bobcat to cross the finish line, placing 24
th with a time of 25:05.5. Junior
Sam Beeler (Cincinnati, Ohio) and senior
Jake Ethridge (Lewis Center, Ohio) followed behind Slates, finishing in 27
th and 28
th place respectively. Beeler ran a time of 25:11.2 and Ethridge recorded a personal-best time of 25:12.4. Junior
Franklin Angelos (Parkersburg, W. Va.) rounded out Ohio's top five performers with a 31
st place finish and time of 25:14.7.
The Bobcats will be back in action at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 15 in Norton, Ohio.
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