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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women Place Ninth, Men 11th At MAC Meet
November 02, 2002 | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 2, 2002
OXFORD, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University cross country teams competed against the rest of the Mid-American Conference squads Saturday (Nov. 2). The Falcon women placed ninth as a team at the MAC Championships, while the BGSU men were 11th. The races were held at the Western Campus Course on the campus of Miami University.
Junior Amber Culp led the women, placing 22nd overall in a time of 18:21.70, while senior Mario Rothmund paced the Falcon men with a 24th-place finish (25:17.40). Culp has been the Falcons' top finisher in each of the women's last five races. Rothmund has been the top finisher for the BG men in each of the last six races, and in all seven of the meets in which he has competed this year.
In addition to Culp, the BGSU women were represented in the 112-runner, 5K race by Niki Suitor (45th 18:54.40), Melissa Krueger (61st, 19:13.10), Nicola Viljoen (77th, 19:27.70), Sarah Lohrbach (82nd, 19:29.90), Cyndi Bostdorff (94th, 19:52.90), Elise Gould (99th, 20:08.50), Leslie Carden (103rd, 20:27.30) and Briana Killian (105th, 20:40.60).
For the BGSU men, Patrick Maynard (71st, 26:50.10) was the second runner to cross the finish line in the 99-runner, 8K race. Kris Lachowski (85th, 27:31.30), Troy Stiles (92nd, 28.11.70), Josh Stucky (95th, 28:22.90), Phil King (98th, 29:12.20) and Steve Blasko (99th, 29:15.60) also competed for the Brown and Orange.
"On the men's side, we ended up 11th, which is where we were ranked in the preseason poll," said BGSU head coach Cami Wells. "We were hoping to finish a spot or two higher, and race stronger as a team. But, this was the first MAC meet for the entire team, and it is invaluable experience for next year. This was a transition year for everyone, and now we can start to build for next year.
"Mario had a decent race, and ran his second-fastest time of the season. His goal was to finish in the top 12 and make the All-MAC team, but he ended up 24th in a very strong field. Mario just lost focus mentally and let the front pack get away from him. He realizes his mistake and is eager to race at the regional meet in two weeks. Mario has been an excellent team leader all season long and really helped us get through this transition year.
"Ed Stonestreet was unable to start the race due to a hip injury, and Phil King and Steve Blasko both have nagging injuries which hampered their performances. I am really looking forward to continuing to work with the men's team and taking on the challenge of developing a team that can be competitive in the MAC.
"Overall I am pleased with the effort the men have put forth this year in practice. We still have some work to do, as far as mental toughness during the meets. But, they have started to come together as a team the past few weeks and I believe that will carry over to next season.
"On the women's side, Amber Culp had a good race, with her second-fastest time ever, and her highest MAC finish to date. Niki Suitor ran competitively and finished 45th, moving up 45 places from her 90th-place finish last season.
"The rest of the team struggled and, as a result, we ended up ninth. Although 9th place is an improvement from the 12th-place finish last year, it was disappointing for us not to finish higher as a team. We do have one meet left , and the travel squad has yet to be finalized.
"I was pleased with the team's progress this season. They worked hard and had some nice races. We will definitely miss the leadership of our graduating seniors (Cyndi Bostdorff, Katrina Kerns,Briana Killian, Sarah Lohrbach, Christy Paine, Beth Scheall, and Kristin Spicer). They have been the backbone of this program since I took over four years ago. They are all excellent students and I have never once questioned their commitment to the team. They are a hard act to follow.
"Despite our impending losses to graduation, I do feel we have a strong core group returning next year led by our number-one runner this season, Amber Culp. Along with Amber we will have Niki Suitor, Melissa Krueger, Nicola Viljoen, Elise Gould, Leslie Carden, Caroline Kipchaba, Leighann Kramer, Emily Jackson, and Angie Raizas returning next season.
"Now, we just need to build on that core group and do a better job of stepping up and competing well at the MAC meet."
The Toledo women won a second consecutive MAC team crown, and UT's Brianna Shook was the individual winner. On the men's side, Central Michigan edged out Eastern Michigan for the MAC team championship by a single point (39-40). The Eagles' Gavin Thompson won the individual MAC crown with the fastest time in MAC history and fastest time in Western Campus Course history (23:50.20).
BGSU now prepares for the Great Lakes Regional Championships in two weeks. That meet, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 16, will be held in West Lafayette, Ind.
