Bowling Green State University Athletics
Cross Country Teams Begin Season Saturday
September 06, 2001 | General
Sept. 6, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University cross country teams open the 2001 season Saturday (Sept. 8), taking on Ohio University in dual-meet action in Athens, Ohio. The women's race is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., with the men's race set for a 10:15 a.m. start.
There are a number of similarities between the two Falcon teams. Both the men's squad, coached by Sterling Martin, and the women's team of coach Cami Wells have a solid nucleus of returnees to go along with several promising newcomers, as both teams look to build upon some solid late-season finishes in 2000.
Martin, entering his fourth season with the Falcons, welcomes back eight of last season's nine letterwinners from a team that placed sixth at the MAC Championships. Among the returnees are senior Tom Kutter, last year's team MVP, and classmate Rob Glatz, who was named the 2000 team's most improved runner. Kutter was BGSU's top finisher in all seven races last year.
Sophomore Paul Niedzwiecki, who was the Falcons' second finisher behind Kutter in six of last year's seven meets, also returns.
"We're anxious to get the season started," said Martin. "We've had some great practices, and guys put in tremendous summers of work. I'm very pleased with what I've seen so far out of the team.
"(Junior) Dave Larson is nursing an injury, and we're hoping to have him back by the end of the month. Everyone else, though, is as healthy as you can be at this point in the season.
"We are looking forward to racing at Ohio. They opened up last week and ran very well at home. I think it will be a very competitive race. We're a veteran team, and we're looking to go in and continue the success that we felt we started last year.
"Obviously, Tom Kutter is an all-conference returnee for us. Paul Niedzwiecki finished 15th at the MAC meet last year, and is running very well. Competition just seems to bring out the best in him.
"(Sophomore) Justin Perez is running very well right now in his second year. (Freshman) Grant Shadden is healthy this year after redshirting last year. Both of those guys are former (high school) state champions.
"(Senior) Chad Kunkle had a great summer and is racing well, as is (senior) Austin Chapin. Really, I think we have one of those situations where we're running well and we're deep. You don't get that combination very often. So, we've got big goals for this year."
Wells starts her third season at BGSU with four returning letterwinners from a year ago. The Falcon women finished ninth at last year's MAC Championships, but posted a solid 13th-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional. BG placed sixth among MAC schools at the regional race. Christine Thompson and Lisa Mariea are gone from that squad, but juniors Joy Echler and Briana Killian are among the returnees. Echler was BG's top finisher in five of last year's eight races, while Killian and sophomore Amber Culp each competed in every race and were usually among the top Falcon finishers. Sophomore Jordan Hartmann, who earned a letter in 2000, will redshirt the 2001 campaign.
"We lost a couple of big seniors in Christine Thompson and Lisa Mariea," said Wells. "They will be missed. But, we have a good group of young girls and a solid group of juniors who enter their third year. They've been here since I started, and they're really a hard-working group of girls who came in prepared this season. They are focused and ready to go.
"We are battling a few injuries. (Junior) Erin Croley is out until, probably, the end of the month. Briana Killian and (freshman) Nicole Suitor are questionable right now, but everyone else is healthy.
"Joy Echler has looked good, coming off her track season last year. The biggest thing we need to work on is getting a tight pack running up there together. That's something we've been working on the last two years, and we hope it comes together this year.
"We've got two freshmen, Elise Gould and Melissa Krueger, who have looked great in practice. We're just excited to get out there and have a meet, and see how everyone does."
Following this weekend's race in Athens, the Falcon teams will prepare for the Mel Brodt Invitational. BGSU's lone home race of the season, the Mel Brodt will be held on Saturday, Sept. 15.
FALCON TEAMS NAME CAPTAINS
The BGSU cross country teams have announced the captains for the 2001 campaign. For Sterling Martin's men's squad, senior Tom Kutter (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) and junior Dave Larson (Covington, Ohio/Covington) will serve as co-captains. The women's team of coach Cami Wells will have a pair of junior co-captains in Joy Echler (Montpelier, Ohio/Montpelier) and Briana Killian (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont).
