Karanja Earns All-Regional Honors at NCAA Regional

RESULTS

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Eastern Michigan University men’s cross country team capped off a stellar 2007 season with a seventh place showing today at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Bloomington, Ind. The Eagles tallied up 230 points. The University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan tied with 68 points to win the men’s race and earn the two automatic bids from the Great Lakes Region to the NCAA National meet Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind.

After finishing third at the Mid-American Conference Championship, Oct. 27, the junior distance standout Josh Karanja (Ottawa, Ont.-Nepean) led the Eagles for the fifth time this season and finished eighth to earn NCAA All-Regional honors. He finished the 10-kilometer race with a blistering time of 30:58.88, a career-best. Karanja was also the top MAC performer at the meet.

The Eagles struggled to close the gap between the first and second runner, as fellow junior Josh Perrin (Hillsdale, Mich.-Hillsdale) finished 50th with a time of 32:14.54. The Green and White did a much better job as runners three through six finished between the 53rd and 62nd spot. David Brent (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary’s Catholic) finished 53rd with a time of 32:22.94 while Neal Naughton (Walled Lake, Mich.-Walled Lake Western) finished 61st with a time of 32:33.50. Kyle Mena (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern) finished right behind Naughton in 62nd place with a time of 32:34.38. Curtis Vollmar (Grand Blanc, Mich.-Grand Blanc) finished 63rd with a time of 32:35.50. Luke Chrusciel (Grandville, Mich.-Grandville) was the final Eagle harrier, crossing the line in 95th place with a time of 33:18.23.

The Eagles now await the word that will be announced Sunday night from the NCAA as to whether the team or an individual qualified for the National meet.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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