Akron Set to Compete at Penn State National in Final MAC Championship Tune-Up

Friday, October 18

University Park, Pa.

University of Akron

Penn State National

Akron Set to Compete at Penn State National in Final MAC Championship Tune-Up

October 17 | Cross Country

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LIVE RESULTS | MEN'S PREVIEW | WOMEN'S PREVIEW

AKRON, Ohio - In their final tune-up before the upcoming Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championships on Nov. 2, the University of Akron men's and women's cross country squads travel to University Park, Pa., to compete at the Penn State National on Friday, Oct. 18.

The women's 6K is scheduled to go off at 10:45 a.m. ET, while the men's 5.2 Mile race is slated for an 11:30 a.m. ET start. The meet is held at the Penn State Blue-White Course.

Seventeen schools will be competing in the men's and women's fields, including; Akron (M/W), Bucknell (M/W), Buffalo (M/W), Georgia Tech (M/W), James Madison (W), Kent State (M/W), Lehigh (M/W), Maryland (W), Penn (M/W), Penn State (M/W), Princeton (W), St. Joseph's (M/W), Temple (M/W), Tennessee (W), West Virginia (W), William & Mary (M/W) and Youngstown State (M/W).

The Akron men's and women's squads are both ranked 13th in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Great Lakes Regional polls released on Oct. 7.

Akron retunrs to competition after garnering a pair of top-five team finishes at the Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 4, led by the efforts of junior Andre Bollam-Godbott (Brunswick, Ohio) and senior Mackenzie Andrews (Toowoomba, Australia).

The Zips placed fourth overall in the men's Gold Division with 132 points, while the women's squad finished fifth in the Gold Division with 183 points. Utah Valley and Cal State Fullerton claimed the men's and women's team Gold Division titles, respectively.

Bollam-Godbott and senior Marc Migliozzi (Pittsburgh, Pa.) battled down to the wire for top-team honors in the men's five-mile race, as the duo was separated by only 38 one-hundredths of a second, en route to registering times of 24:30.91 and 24:31.29 to finish seventh and eighth, respectively.

Seniors Nick Stricklen (Lexington, Ohio) and Jeremiah Fitzgerald (Mantua, Ohio) were next across the line for Akron in 25:00.06 (26th) and 25:18.53 (45th), while freshman Chase Easterling (Mt. Orab, Ohio) rounded out the Zips' scoring efforts with a time of 25:20.16 (48th).

Akron also garnered performances of 25:31.47 (65th), 25:48.35 (84th) and 26:30.76 (121st), courtesy of redshirt junior Jacob Ondash (Hiram, Ohio), freshman Aidan Harr (New Philadelphia, Ohio) and junior Oliver Huffman (Augusta, Ga.).

Andrews continued her dominating run of performances in 2019 leading the Zips' women's squad across the finish line for the third consecutive race on the strength of a 5K time of 17:00.49 en route to placing third.

Junior Lindsey Scarton (Berea, Ohio) was next over the line for Akron registering a time of 17:31.15 to finish 18th.

Senior Haley Hess (Curtice, Ohio), freshman Olivia Anaple (Blue Ash, Ohio) and sophomore Lizzy Gurko (Northfield, Ohio) capped the Zips' scoring efforts recording times of 17:40.46, 18:16.01 and 18:16.74, respectively.

In her first race for Akron, senior Varvara Lissichkina (Karaganda, Kazahkstan) posted a time of 18:22.21, while senior Hannah Long (Pacific, Mo.) and redshirt junior Alyssa Thomas (Green, Ohio) rounded out the Zips' performances crossing the finish line in 18:45.43 and 19:22.10.

In the women's open 5K, junior Leah Recker (Findlay, Ohio) and freshman Morgan Jankowski (Brook Park, Ohio) traversed the line in 19:01.48 and 19:14.26.

In the men's open five-mile race, junior Shane Kelliher (Uniontown, Ohio) crossed the line in 29:28.28 (108th).

A year ago, at the Penn State National, Andrews and Tevin Brown (Toledo, Ohio) directed the efforts of the Zips' women's and men's cross country squads on Oct. 12, 2018, registering team-best times of 21:24 and 26:00, respectively.

Andrews was Akron's top finisher traversing the women's 6K course in a team-best time of 21:24.

Hess and Scarton were next across the line for the Zips posting times of 22:14 and 22:20, respectively.

Rounding out the scoring efforts for Akron was Thomas and senior Ashley Murray. Also competing for the Zips was Gurko and Tarike Osuobeni.

Brown was the Zips' top men's finisher for the first time this season registering a time of 26:00 in the 5.2-mile race to place 57th.

Akron got a solid effort from its scoring members as the team's spread between its Nos. 1 and 5 runners was 36 seconds.

Migliozzi posted a time of 26:08 to place 71st, while Bollam-Godbott, Taylor Hopkins and Jake Wickert crossed the line in 26:23 (94th), 26:36 (109th) and 26:36 (110th), respectively.

Also competing for the Zips and recording times of 27:09 and 27:44 was Ondash and Stricklen.

The MAC Cross Country Championships are next for Akron as the Zips travel to DeKalb, Ill., on Nov. 2.