STEVENSON, Md.– Eastern University Women's Cross Country claimed a fourth place finish at the MAC Championship Meet hosted at Stevenson University. Megan Bernotas and Kierra Zack earned first-team All-MAC honors with third and ninth place overall finishes.

Top Performers:
Megan Bernotas (3rd- 23:24) Kierra Zack (9th- 23:54) Katelyn Bernotas (11th- 23:59) Clarice Koehler (24th-24:51)

How it Happened:
The teams raced in wet, cold, and windy conditions on three laps a of a 2 kilometer loop. The Eagles were picked to finish fifth and put four runners on the All-MAC squad to move up a position to fourth.

Coach Wilson Says:
"The coaches and the team have mixed emotions about how we did today. The women finished fourth overall, which is certainly not what we set out to do this year. It's an improvement on last year's fifth-place finish, so we can't be too disappointed about that. We know we have all the right pieces, but it just didn't come together for us this year. Many of the reasons that things didn't work out were out of our control. We dealt with some unfortunate injuries, illness, and poorly timed issues but we still feel we should have done better than we did today. It stings a little bit because we know we have a great group of young women with potential to do some awesome things, and I know a bunch of them wanted to win one this year for Kierra and Clarice. Those two have laid the foundation here, and they both had an awesome day today."

"Megan Bernotas was the story of the day for the women's team. She ran a remarkable race from start to finish and placed third in a very deep field. She made aggressive moves early in the race and stuck with that intensity throughout. I think she is poised to do some very nice things moving into the regional meet, and it was awesome to see her earn a medal today. Her finish is the second highest individual finish for a female athlete in our program history. I'm really proud of Meg and the work she's put in this year."

"Kierra  earned her third first team all-conference performance today with a ninth place finish. Katelyn Bernotas was right behind her in 11th. Kierra has been a rock within our team since her very first meet, and we're exceedingly proud of her. Kate moved from 55th last year to 11th this year... remarkable progress and a testament to her work, grit, and determination. She's a fighter, and she means business when she's competing. Clarice joined the trio on the all-conference list, finishing in 24th. It is Clarice's first all-conference recognition in XC, and we're proud of her effort - and all the work she has put in over four years - to get to where she is today."

Up Next:
Eastern will run at the NCAA Mideast Regional hosted by DeSales. The top teams and individual runners will qualify for the NCAA National Meet.