Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Women Prepare For NCAA Regional Meet
November 12, 2003 | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 12, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's cross country team will head to Terre Haute, Ind., for Saturday's (Nov. 15) NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships. The meet, hosted by Indiana State University, will be held on the Lavern Gibson Championship Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center, approximately 10 miles east of Terre Haute.
DIRECTIONS TO THE COURSE
(from Bowling Green)
Take Interstate 75 South to I-70 West
Take I-70 West to the State Route 46 exit
Proceed north on S.R. 46 to S.R. 42
Proceed east on S.R. 42, past Hulman International
Airport, to Swalls Road.
Proceed east on Swalls Road to the entrance.
ALTERNATE ENTRANCE:
Proceed east on S.R. 42, past Hulman International
Airport, and follow S.R. 42 beyond Swalls Road
to Tabertown Road
Turn right (north) on Tabertown Road -- the entrance
will be on the right
The Falcon women will compete in the second race of the day. The 10,000-meter men's race begins at 11:00 a.m. locally (noon Eastern), while the 6K women's race starts at 12:15 p.m. local time (1:15 p.m. Eastern).
The tentative travel party for the Falcons includes seniors Amber Culp and Leighann Kramer, juniors Melissa Krueger and Niki Suitor, sophomore Leslie Carden and freshmen Bridget Dalic and Andrea Pollack. Freshman Kim Settle will make the trip as an alternate, as each school is allowed only seven participants.
The NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships are one of nine regional races around the country. The top-two teams in thte final standings at each regional earn automatic qualification for the NCAA Championships, which will be held Nov. 24 in Waterloo, Iowa.
A total of 13 additional teams are selected on an at-large basis. Additionally, the top-four individuals from each of the nine regions (who are not already going as part of a team), plus a total of two at-large individuals, qualify for the NCAA meet.
The Great Lakes Region is one of the strongest regions in the nation, featuring eight teams ranked in the top-36. A pair of top-ten teams, fourth-ranked Notre Dame and #7 Michigan, headline the field, which also includes Michigan State (ranked 12th nationally), Marquette (19th), Ball State (29th), Toledo (32nd), Indiana (33rd) and Wisconsin (36th).
Obviously, Wells and the Falcons will have some tough competition, but the coach and her team are looking forward to the challenge.
"We are looking forwrd to racing at the 6K distance," said Wells. "This team has worked very hard all year. They have a tremendous work ethic, and I want them to go out, run this meet with everything they have, and show just what they are capable of doing when they all run well at the same time."
BGSU is coming off an eighth-place finish at the Mid-American Conference Championships (Nov. 1), a race which saw Culp finish fifth individually to earn All-MAC First-Team honors.
Culp has been the top Falcon finisher in each of the last 14 races, dating to early in the 2002 season. She became BG's first all-league first-team runner since the 1998 season. Culp has finished 10th or better in every BGSU meet this season.
"Amber Culp is one of the top runners in the region," said Wells. "There will be a strong field of about 20 runners battling it out for those four individual berths to the NCAA meet. Amber has competed well all year, and at this point, her chances of making it to nationals are just as good as anyone else's. It is just a matter of letting it all unfold on Saturday.
"Of course, Amber would love to make it to nationals. But, regardless of what happens on Saturday, she has had an outstanding career here at BG, and she has had an outstanding senior year. We would love to cap it off with a run at the national meet but, as I told Amber, qualifying as an individual takes a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck.
"The luck part comes into play, because we just don't know how many teams from our region will go to the national meet, and what effect that will have on the individual berths.
"Amber has done her part. She has put in the hard work necessary to get to this point and put herself in contention. Amber will race tough, like she has all year, and see where the chips fall after it is all said and done.
"She does have a goal to be all-region, which encompasses the top-25 individuals in the regional meet. Amber has accomplished so much already, and has been a tremendous leader for the team. She has had such a solid career, and I just want her to rn this one for herself and be happy with her effort when she crosses the finish line.
"As a team, we are shooting for a top-12 finish. Our best team finish since I took over was in 2000, when we finished 13th. This year's team just keeps getting stronger, and has exceeded all of my expectations in practice. Now we just have to put it all together on Saturday and race like we know we are capable of racing."
A total of 31 teams and 38 individuals will qualify for the NCAA Division I Championships, which will be hosted by the University of Northern Iowa.
