Eastern Michigan Athletics
Men's Cross Country Opens Season at Michigan Open
8/27/2008 2:12:26 PM | Men's XC
Complete Release in PDF format
The Eastern Michigan University men's cross country team will kick of the 2008 season Friday, Aug. 29, at the Michigan Open. The non-scoring meet is slated to begin at 4 p.m. at Hudson Mills Park in Dexter, Mich.
» 2008 SEASON KICKS OFF: The Eastern Michigan University men’s cross country team kicks off its 83rd season in 2008. The first year of intercollegiate cross country for men in Ypsilanti was 1923 when the team finished second at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and was fourth at the Michigan Athletic Conference.
» PICKED TO WIN IT ALL: The EMU men’s cross country team will have targets on its back the entire season, as it was picked to win the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championship by the league’s head coaches. The Eagles have won the last three championships and return a talented senior class that will look to lead them to the conference title.
» EAGLES HOST THE CHAMPIONSHIP: For the fourth time in school history, the Eagles will play host to the Mid-American Conference Championship. EMU previously served as host in each of the last four decades (1975, 1987, 1994 and 2001). The Eagles are 1-3 when hosting the MAC Championship, with the lone win coming in 2001. Eastern has hosted a fifth championship, in 1980, when the first women’s league championship was held. The women’s squad finished second.
» GOODRIDGE ENTERS SEASON EIGHT: The 2008 season marks the eighth under head coach John Goodridge. In seven years, the Eagles have won the MAC Championship four times. He has directed one NCAA Champion, six All-Americans, four NCAA Great Lakes Region champions, five MAC individual champions and 29 All-MAC harriers.
» STATELY BREAKDOWN: The EMU cross country roster is loaded with athletes from the state of Michigan. The Eagles have 19 harriers from the Great Lakes State, while two atheltes are from Ohio and one from New York . The Eagles only have one foreign athlete, Josh Karanja, who is from Ottawa, Canada.
»TAKING IT TO THE "MAC": The 2008 season is the 32nd year of Mid-American Conference action for the Eastern Michigan University cross country team. Eastern was admitted into the MAC in 1971, but competed in its first MAC Championship in 1972. Since then, the Eagles have won 13 MAC titles, the most of any school in the 32-year time span.
» EMU ON THE WORLDWIDE WEB: The EMU athletic website, featuring information on all 21 varsity athletic teams, is: www.emueagles.com.
