A mild upset took place in the men’s race this weekend as Central Michigan, the No. 8 team in the nation, edged out two-time defending champion and No. 7 team in the nation Eastern Michigan by one point to take home the Mid-American Conference championship.

The two schools combined to place six runners in the top 10 of the 8K race. Champion Central Michigan was led by Jake Flynn, who took second overall with a time of 24:03. Gavin Thompson from runner-up Eastern Michigan won the race with a time of 23:50.20. The University of Buffalo’s Jeremie Slick (24:09.40), Central Michigan’s Tristen Perlberg (24:15.70), and Eastern Michigan’s Jordan Desilets (24:23.40), rounded out the men’s top five.

These two powerhouses will compose two-thirds of the All-MAC team — the top 12 finishers in the MAC Championship race — as they placed eight runners in this group. Central and Eastern Michigan were followed by Miami University, Western Michigan, and Kent State to round out the men’s top five.

Mario Rothmund led the way once again for the Falcons, placing 24th with a time of 25:17.40, his second fastest time of the season. Rothmund came up short of his goal of making the All-MAC team.

“Mario just lost focus mentally and let the front pack get away from him. He realizes his mistake and is eager to race at the regional meet in two weeks,” head coach Cami Wells said.

Rothmund has really stepped up and emerged as a leader on the men’s squad since walking onto the team at the beginning of the season.

“Mario has been an excellent team leader all season long, and really helped us get through this transition year,” Wells said.

The rest of the Falcon finishers were: Patrick Maynard (71st, 26:50.10), Kris Lachowski (85th, 27:31.30), Troy Stiles (92nd, 28:11.70), Josh Stucky (95th, 28:22.90), Phil King (98th, 29:12.20), and Steve Blasko (99th, 29:15.60).

Ed Stonestreet was a last-minute scratch due to a hip injury. Phil King and Steve Blasko were both still feeling the effects of nagging injuries, which hampered their performances this past weekend. Overall, the men placed 11 out of 12 schools, which matched their preseason ranking.

“We were hoping to finish a spot or two higher and race stronger as a team, but this was the first MAC meet for the entire team and it is invaluable experience for next year. This was a transition year for everyone and now we can start to build for next year,” Wells said.

On the women’s side, the University of Toledo, led by Brianna Shook and Sara Vergote, took home their second consecutive title. Shook and Vergote placed first and second in the 5K race with times of 17:03.60 and 17:21.20 respectively. They were followed by Akron’s Adriana Zalucka (17:33.70), Miami’s Andrea Kremer (17:37.70), and Ball State’s Stacey Ritz (17:48.20), to round out the top five individual finishers.

The Falcons were once again paced by Amber Culp, who placed 22nd with a time of 18:21.7), her second fastest time ever. This was also her highest finish in the MAC thus far, eclipsing a 38th-place finish her freshmen year. Culp was followed by Niki Suitor, who placed 45th with a time of 18:54.40. Suitor made a big jump from last year, when she placed 90th.

The rest of the Falcon finishers were: Melissa Krueger (61st, 19:13.10), Nicola Viljoen (77th, 19:27.70), Sarah Lohrbach (82nd, 19:29.90), Cyndi Bostdorff (94th, 19:52.90), Elise Gould (99th, 20:08.50), Leslie Carden (103rd, 20:27.30), and Brianna Killian (105th, 20:40.60).

The women finished ninth overall, out of 13 schools. This finish fell short of the team’s season goal of finishing in the top five in this race.

“I think we could have done better. The course was a lot tougher than we thought it would be,” Culp said.

The women’s squad will lose quite a few runners to graduation. Wells knows that these athletes will be sorely missed.

“We will definitely miss the leadership of our graduating seniors. They have been the backbone of this program since I took over four years ago. They are all excellent students and I have never once questioned their commitment to the team, they are a hard act to follow,” Wells said.

Wells, however, is very optimistic about the team’s future. “Despite our losses to graduation I do feel we have a strong core group returning next year,” Wells said.

The next meet for the runners is the NCAA regional meet on Nov. 16 in West Lafayette, Ind.