The Miami University women's cross country team captured its second straight MAC Championship Saturday. This year's championship meet, hosted by Ohio University, marked only the second time in school history that the women's cross country team has captured the conference title.

The RedHawks totaled 44 points, finishing 19 points ahead of second-place Toledo, which beat Miami two weeks before at Pre-Nationals.

"They did an amazing job today. I couldn't be happier," first-year Head Coach Kelly Phillips said. "Honestly I can't take any credit for this group. I have to credit my predecessors for good recruiting but the team did an amazing job."

Phillips was named the 2009 MAC Coach of the Year, marking the second straight year a Miami coach has earned that honor.

Seniors Amanda Mirochna and Laura Neufarth placed third and fifth, respectively, earning them First-Team All-MAC honors. This marks the second straight year that Mirochna has earned this distinction, finishing with a time of 22:32.4.

"Amanda just ran amazing," Phillips said. "You could just tell from the start."

In addition, four RedHawks garnered Second-Team All-MAC honors. Senior Kelsey McHugh, juniors Rachel Patterson and Katie Lenahan and sophomore Maggie Bingham all finished within two seconds of each other, grabbing spots 11 through 14 respectively. This was the second straight year that McHugh, Patterson and Lenahan earned this distinction.

"Rachel Patterson was our hidden secret, as we decided last week that she would run," Phillips said. "They ran as a great pack and were fired up the whole time. It was really fun to watch."

Toledo's Ari Fisher won the individual MAC title, finishing 14 seconds ahead of Mirochna.

The RedHawks will be back in action in two weeks for the Great Lakes Regional Championship hosted by Indiana University, where Miami will try to qualify for the NCAA Championship.

Meanwhile, the men's cross country team placed fourth this past weekend at the MAC Championship. This marked just the second time since 1996 that the RedHawks didn't finish in the top three at the conference championship.

Junior Michael Perry led Miami with a time of 26:21.5, placing 12th overall and earning him Second-Team All-MAC honors. He was Miami's top finisher for the first time in his career, and this was also his best finish at a MAC Championship meet.

"Michael Perry was moving really well and he fell down and had to start catching up," Head Coach Warren Mandrell said. "It was really good for him, especially considering he fell down and had to get going again."

The muddy course presented many problems for the RedHawks, who only placed three runners in the top 20, including senior Paul Krebs (18th) and redshirt freshman David Eichenberger (20th).

"For whatever reason, the guys have not handled the mud very well," Mandrell said. "The course was very soft because it rained all night. They put themselves out there early and the hope was to gradually pick people off but they pretty much stayed static or ended up losing ground later in the race."

Senior Adam Martin finished 21st, which was a career best MAC finish for him, while last year's runner-up, senior Kevin Silver, rounded out Miami's top five finishing 24th overall.

Miami finished 52 points ahead of fifth place Buffalo, while Kent State captured its first MAC Championship in school history.

The RedHawks will look to bounce back in two weeks at the Great Lakes Regional in Bloomington, Ind., where they will look to qualify for the NCAA Championship.