LONDON, Ont. (EMUEagles.com) -The Eastern Michigan University Men's Cross Country team added another first place finish to the 2010 season this afternoon at the 36th annual Western International Cross Country Invite, hosted by Western Ontario University.
The Green and White scored 30 points, earning them top spot in the 13-team field. Four Eagles placed in the top five, with sophomore
Terefe Ejigu (Mount Cook, Wellington-Wellington College, New Zealand) leading the way with a second place finish time of 31:56. Senior Captain
Matt Hammersmith (Wolcottville, Mich.-Prairie Heights) followed with a time of 32:07, good for third place. Freshman
Harry Dixon (Nelson, New Zealand-Nayland College) faired well in his first race of the season, finishing forth with a time of 32:10. He was followed by teammate
James Hughes (Manchester, Mich.-Manchester), who was fifth to cross the finish line at 32:13.
The Eagles broke two of its own meet records on the hilly 10,000-meter Thames Valley Golf Course. EMU set records in the total time of top five scorers (161:16) as well as the best average time of top five runners (32:15.2), surpassing the previous records set by the Eagles in 2007.
Head Coach
John Goodridge was pleased with how his squad responded after a tough week of training prior to the race.
“Having just completed a very intense training cycle, I was curious to see how the guys would respond,” said Goodridge. “We learned a bit about ourselves and took a very positive step in seeing what kind of team we are. I am very impressed by how well the guys executed our race strategy, and our 2-3-4-5 finish is representative of the strong team effort I was looking for. I am confident that we have the potential to improve and to narrow our 1-5 split.”
The Eagles are back in action next week, as they head to the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Oct. 1. This year will mark the 55th running of the invitational and will feature some of the country's best competition. The race is scheduled for a 2:45 p.m. start.
