Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Head To Auburn For Friday Invitational
October 08, 2003 | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 8, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University cross country teams, having competed solely in the Midwest in the season's first five races, will head south for this weekend's action. The Falcons of head coach Cami Wells will travel to the state of Alabama for the Auburn Invitational, which will be held Friday afternoon (Oct. 10). The races will take place at the Indian Pines Golf Course, with the men starting at 4:00 p.m. locally (5:00 p.m. Eastern) and the women running at 4:45 p.m. (5:45 p.m. Eastern).
The races will include a number of Southeastern Conference schools, including Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, as well as the host Tigers.
The Falcons , after racing on five consecutive weekends, were idle last weekend. In the teams' most recent action, the BGSU women were third and the men placed sixth at the Central Collegiates in the Kalamazoo, Mich., area on Sept. 26.
"Having a weekend off from competition gave the team a much-needed mental break after five-straight weeks of racing," said Wells. "And, as if worked out, it allowed us to get healthy. The off-week allowed Niki Suitor time to recover from her hamstring injury without missing any more competitions. She started normal practice (Monday) and picked up right where she left off.
"We have a few nagging colds, but overall, everyone is healthy at this time."
The Falcons ran at the Auburn Invite in 2002, with the women's team placing ninth and the men finishing 18th. Wells is looking forward to her teams being able to race in a mild climate against some rugged competition.
 Junior Melissa Krueger  |
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"This is a fast course with quality competition," she said. "So, I am expecting that we will see some season- and personal-best times this weekend. As in every meet we run, we will focus on every person getting the most out of themselves, and we will concentrate on closing the gaps between runners.
"I am happy with both teams' progress to this point in the season, and I am excited to see what they can do in the next few meets. They have put in a lot of hard work, and now is the time to collect on that hard work."
Following Friday's races, the Falcons will head to Urbana, Ill., to run in the Pack-It-Up Illini Challenge on Oct. 18. Then, BGSU will prepare for the MAC Championships, hosted by Akron on Nov. 1.
