Nov. 10, 2003

OXFORD, Ohio -

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Miami University's men's cross country team returns to action at the NCAA Regional meet hosted by Indiana State. The top two teams will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, while a good showing could lead to one of nine automatic berths at the national meet.

Scouting The Field: The Great Lakes Region annually serves as one of the top regions in the nation. Last year, eight teams earned bids to the NCAA Championships, the most of any of the 11 regions. This season has been no different, as the top eight regionally-ranked teams are among the top-40 programs receiving votes in the national poll, including No. 2 Wisconsin. MAC foes Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan are also among the top teams in the region.

The top two teams will receive the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The region is likely to send another 5-6 teams through at-large bids. Individuals will be awarded berths to the NCAA meet by finishing among the top-five of runners who's teams did not earn a bid to the national meet, either automatically or as an at-large team.

Last Time Out: The RedHawks looked poised to capture their first MAC Championship since 1999, coming up short at the MAC Championship on Nov. 1. Running neck-and-neck with conference powers Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan for most of the way, Miami was unable to pull off the upset, and finished third. CMU won the meet, placing all five runner inside the top-13, while EMU took second, just two points back.

Individually, junior David Mitchell (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) and senior Brian Godsey (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) paced the Red and White attack, finishing second and sixth, respectively. Sophomore Chris Swisher (Milan, Ind./Milan) and senior Steve Padgett (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) finished together at 15th and 16th, while sophomore Dan Huling (Geneva, Ill./Geneva Community) suffered a leg injury in the last 1,000 meters to finish 31st.

All-MAC, All The Time: Via his sixth-place finish at this year's MAC Championship, Brian Godsey earned the fourth cross country all-MAC honor of his career, after posting top-10 finishes each year. After taking second-team accolades as a freshman, Godsey has collected all-MAC First-Team awards for the subsequent three seasons.

David Mitchell was named first-team all-MAC after his second-place finish, marking his second all-MAC honor. Last year, he was named to the second team after finishing ninth.

Last Year's Regionals: Senior Jerry Claunch (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) paced Miami at last year's NCAA Regional held at Purdue University. Claunch finished 325th and earned a spot at the NCAA Championships. David Mitchell finished 46th, and stands as the only runner to participate at this year's event after competing in 2002. Claunch will miss the regional in hopes of earning a medical redshirt, while Brian Godsey sat out last season for the same reason.