Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Ready For Regional Race
November 14, 2002 | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 14, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University cross country teams will head to West Lafayette, Ind., for Saturday's (Nov. 16) 2002 NCAA Great Lakes Region Cross Country Championships. The races, hosted by Purdue University, will be held at the Varsity Cross Country Course.
The meet will begin at 11:00 a.m. locally with the women's six-kilometer race, with the men's 10K event scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. start. Directions to the course can be found later in this release.
"The Great Lakes Region is very strong this year, on both the men's and the women's side," said BGSU head coach Cami Wells. "It is possible we might see six or seven teams on both sides go to nationals."
The top-two teams from each of the nine regional races automatically qualify for the NCAA Championship meet (Mon., Nov. 25, in Terre Haute, Ind.), and 13 additional teams from across the country will be awarded at-large bids. In addition to the teams, the top-four individuals from each region (on a non-qualifying team) will automatically qualify for the national race.
The men's race is slated to feature eight teams ranked in the top-30 in the nation, including Wisconsin, ranked fourth in the latest MONDO Men's National Poll. The race also is scheduled to include #7 Eastern Michigan, #9 Central Michigan, #17 Ohio State, #18 Michigan, #20 Indiana, #21 Butler and #28 Michigan State.
On the women's side, fifth-ranked Notre Dame headlines the seven nationally-ranked teams, according to the latest FinishLynx National Poll. Michigan is ranked 12th in the country, while #19 Michigan State, #20 Indiana, #22 Marquette, #26 Toledo and #30 Wisconsin also are scheduled to compete.
Complete Polls at Apple Raceberry JaM site
The Falcons' five-man contingent for Saturday's first race is scheduled to include Steve Blasko, Kris Lachowski, Mario Rothmund, Troy Stiles and Josh Stucky. Rothmund has been the Falcons' top finisher in each of the last six races, and in all seven of the meets in which he has competed this year.
"This will be the first time any of the men have raced the 10K distance," said Wells. "And, it will be the first regional meet for everyone on the squad. Mario has been keying on this meet all year, and will be aiming for a top-25 finish.
"It will be a good experience to see what it is like to race 10K in a regional meet for our younger guys -- Kris, Josh and Steve. This will be the final race in a BG uniform for Troy Stiles."
Slated to run in the women's race are Cyndi Bostdorff, Amber Culp, Elise Gould, Melissa Krueger, Sarah Lohrbach and Nicole Suitor. Nicola Viljoen is questionable as of Thursday afternoon. Culp has been the first Falcon finisher in each of the last five races.
"The majority of the team has raced at the regional level before, so they will be attempting to improve upon their previous regional finishes and end the season on a positive note after a sub-par MAC meet as a team," said Wells.
"This will the final cross country competition for our seniors, Sarah and Cyndi, and it marks the first time Niki Suitor will be racing at the regional level. Niki has been a bit under the weather this week, but she has had a very solid year and hopes to finish out well.
"Nicola Viljoen has really helped us out up front this season. We are hoping she will be up to racing this final meet, but we want to do whatever is in her best interest for the future."
The meet marks the first races for the Falcons in two weeks. BGSU's women placed ninth at the Mid-American Conference meet on Nov. 2, while the Falcon men were 11th as a team.
A total of 31 men's and 33 women's teams are scheduled to participate in the races at Purdue. In addition to the Falcons and the host Boilermakers, the following schools will send both their men's and women's squads: Akron, Ball State, Butler, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Eastern Michigan, Evansville, Indiana, Indiana State, IPFW, IUPUI, Kent State, Marquette, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oakland, Ohio State, Toledo, Valparaiso, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, UW-Green Bay, UW-Milwaukee, Wright State and Youngstown State. The women's teams from Cleveland State and Xavier also are slated to make the trip to West Lafayette.
MEET INFORMATION
EVENT
2002 NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships
LOCATION
Varsity Cross Country Course; West Lafayette, Ind.
TIMES
Women: 11:00 a.m. locally -- Men: 12:30 p.m.
COST
Free to the public
PARKING
Parking will be handled at the Varsity Cross Country Course. The cost is $5.00 per vehicle. Overflow parking will be available after the course lot is filled.
RESULTS
Complete team and individual results will be available at www.PurdueSports.com shortly after the completion of each race. Results also will be available at www.BGSUFalcons.com Saturday afternoon.
DIRECTIONS TO COURSE
From I-65...
