Both cross country teams ran well in their first meet against Mid-American Conference opponents on Friday.

The men placed seventh, losing to Central Michigan by only 14 points. The result bodes well for the Bobcats, as Central Michigan was tied for third in the MAC preseason poll. Akron placed 159 points behind the Bobcats on its way to a 13th place finish.

“The couple of MAC opponents that we ran against (Friday), especially CMU, are in our range,” junior Ridge Robinson said. “It’s still early in the season for us, and I honestly feel that we can beat CMU.”

“It is encouraging to know that we’re within striking distance of a team that is well ahead of us in the rankings,” senior Shamus Eaton said. “(CMU) looks like they are beatable.”

Robinson led the way for the Bobcats, placing seventh. His time of 25:05 was a 40-second improvement from his previous race.

“I looked at what I did wrong and sprung back from it,” Robinson said. “I think that a lot of it was just sleep throughout the week.”

Eaton finished 10th in the race, giving the Bobcats another runner in the top 10. Junior Todd Holbrook, redshirt sophomore Chris Davis and freshman Tyler Cantley rounded out the top five runners for Ohio, finishing 41st, 59th and 66th, respectively.

Eaton said he was happy with the performance, but noted that it still was not the team’s best race.

“It was a better showing than last week,” said Eaton. “We ran a better team race, but it still wasn’t the best team race. I think that we can definitely still improve from here.”

The women’s team placed sixth in the meet, beating Central Michigan, Ball State and Western Michigan, among others.

Kari Summers and Annie Beecham put together another strong set of performances, finishing third and sixth. Jenielle Hunt was the third Bobcat to finish, and freshmen Hannah Charbel and Kristen Altenburger completed the top five.

Central Michigan closed the gap, losing by only 20 points. The Chippewas took advantage of the space between Beecham and the third runner, Hunt. Central Michigan placed the fifth runner before Charbel had finished.

“CMU is knocking on the door,” coach Clay Calkins said. “We have got to be careful, be aware of the situation.”

The Bobcats were a little concerned about the results, but not too alarmed.

“It’s still early in the season,” Summers said. “(CMU) is something to think about now, but we’re always better at the end of the season.”