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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Open Season At EMU Saturday
August 28, 2003 | Men's Cross Country
Aug. 28, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University cross country teams are just days away from beginning the 2003 season. The Falcon men's and women's squads of head coach Cami Wells will open the season Saturday morning (Aug. 30) at the EMU Open. The non-scored meet, hosted by Eastern Michigan University, will be held at Buhr Park in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The women's 5K race begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by the men's 6,400-meter race at 10:00 a.m. Wells begins her fifth season as the BGSU women's coach and her second year as the men's coach.
DIRECTIONS TO BUHR PARK:
(From Bowling Green:) Take I-75 North to I-475 (follow signs to Ann Arbor); I-475 becomes 23 North; take 23N to Washtenaw East exit (toward Ypsilanti); turn right off the exit, and then make a right on Carpenter; take Carpenter to Packard; turn right on Packard, and Buhr Park will be on the right.
"I am very excited to get the teams out there on the course Saturday," said Wells. "This is a decent-sized meet with gold competition.
"Both squads have been working hard and we have some new faces. I want to see where we are, both as a team and individually, at this point."
Many of the competing schools will send partial squads to the EMU Open. Wells plans to take a partial men's squad, but a full women's squad to the meet Saturday. On the men's side, the status of Mario Rothmund, the team's top runner last season, is still unknown. Rothmund, a native of Stuttgart, Germany, was the team's first finisher in all eight races in which he competed last fall.
However, Rothmund, who is in graduate school at BGSU, has appealed to the NCAA for a medical hardship and an additional season of eligibility, and a ruling on that request has yet to be made. It is highly unlikely that Rothmund will be able to compete with the team at the EMU Open.
Wells' tentative roster for Saturday includes six newcomers among the eight men's competitors. Tentatively slated to run are senior Jake Smith, juniors Kris Lachowski, Patrick Maynard and Steve Vairetta and freshmen Edwin Cheruiyot, Aaron Hemmelgarn, Edgar Ramirez and Jeff Wright. The two juniors, Lachowski and Maynard, each lettered last fall.
The tentative 12-woman squad includes senior Amber Culp and Leighann Kramer, juniors Elise Gould, Melissa Krueger and Niki Suitor, sophomores Leslie Carden, Emily Jackson, Caroline Kipchaba and Jayme Ramson and freshmen Bridget Dalic, Andrea Pollack and Kim Settle.
Culp, Krueger and Suitor are the women's team's three returning letterwinners from a year ago, while Gould earned a letter in the 2001 season.
"There is nothing like competition," said Wells. "People's best and worst attributes are exposed. This meet will spotlight our strengths and weaknesses, and will show me where we need to work for future competitions
Following Saturday's meet, the Falcons will return home for the next two competitions, beginning with a dual meet vs. Toledo on Friday, Sept. 5. Then, BG will host the 17th annual Mel Brodt Invitational, which traditionally brings many area schools from all divisions to the BGSU campus, on Saturday, Sept. 13.
