With the season just days away, the Miami University cross country teams look to start off on the right foot as they travel to Kettering, Ohio, for the Dayton Flyer Invitational at 10:45 a.m. Sept. 5. Both the men's and women's teams look to back up their strong preseason ranking beginning Saturday. The men's team was picked to finish second in the MAC, while the defending MAC Champion women's team was tabbed at No. 1.

Redshirt senior, Kevin Silver, comes back to lead a strong and very experienced RedHawk group that finished second in the conference each of the last two years. The overall runner-up at last years MAC Championships believes they have what it takes to finally get over the hump.

"Our goal is to win the MAC Championship," Silver said. "The preseason ranking came out, and we were second. We really are not that far off from first at all. We have seven out of nine returners with one of the best recruiting classes we have had in recent years, so the depth is there."

Another redshirt senior coming back is Ryan Deszo, who will be an important piece of the puzzle as he looks to improve his already quality 18th place finish at last year's MAC Championship. Along with Deszo is junior Michael Perry out of Cincinnati who finished not too far behind Deszo at the championships last year at 21st.

A new addition that should be noted is Ohio State transfer, Brian Gallagher, a redshirt sophomore.

"He has been running very well so far," head coach Warren Mandrell said. "(He) would have been our fifth runner last year and he is a mature runner that will solidify the depth."

The men compete against top-notch competition as they travel to the Bronx, NY., to run in the Iona Meet of Champions. This is followed by a trip to Chicago, Ill., to the Lakefront Invitational at Loyola University before they get to the Pre-NCAA Invitational on Oct. 17 in Terre Haute, Ind.

Mandrell said he believes in his team and its depth and was very pleased at the progress they are making.

"They put in a lot of work over the summer - they came back fit," Mandrell said. "Our team definitely paid their dues over summer."

Silver had similar thoughts as his coach about how the team stepped up to stay in good form during summer break. Silver went to great lengths and traveled to Israel to compete.

Before the women make their way to the Pre-NCAA Invitational, they are staying in the Midwest as they travel to East Lansing, Mich. for the MSU Spartan Invitational and then to Delaware, Ohio, for the All-Ohio Invitational.

For the first time, the women's team is the reigning MAC Champion. They return their top six runners and first-year head coach Kelly Phillips. First team all-league runners senior Amanda Mirochna and junior Rachel Patterson were the top two runners from last year's squad. Patterson finished third overall, while Mirochna crossed the finish line in sixth place.

Behind Mirochna and Patterson are three second-team all-MAC runners including redshirt senior Laura Neufarth. Strong sophomore runner Margaret Bingham, who placed 15th in the 2008 MAC Championship, is also returning.

Coach Phillips was hired in July and comes from Purdue University, where she spent four seasons as an assistant coach, specifically as a middle and long-distance running coach. She spent time as South Florida's head cross country and track and field coach before Purdue. She spent her colligate days as an Auburn Tiger where she was a two time All-American and set 14 school records.

The lady 'Hawks ran away with the preseason first place ranking, gaining the top spot by an overwhelmingly large margin of 42 points in the voting for second place Akron. Deservingly so, as they literally ran away with last year's MAC title and return their top finishers from last season.

Halloween will mark the date for the 2009 MAC Championship in Athens, Ohio, where both teams will look to mimic each other and take home the hardware as champions.

The Red and White take both squads to Bloomington, Ind., Nov. 14th for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship before heading back to Terre Haute, Ind., for the final run at the NCAA Championships Nov. 23.