Bowling Green State University Athletics
Amber Culp Wins EMU Open
August 30, 2003 | Men's Cross Country
Aug. 30, 2003
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Bowling Green State University senior Amber Culp won the women's individual title as the Falcon cross country teams began the 2003 season at the Eastern Michigan University Open Saturday morning (Aug. 30). The non-scored meet was held at Buhr Park in Ann Arbor.
On the men's side, freshman Edgar Ramirez was the top Falcon finisher, placing fourth.
Culp, the women's team captain, won the 30-woman race in a time of 19:16. Michigan's Arianne Field finished second in the 5K race, seven seconds behind Culp.
Culp picked up right where she left off. Last season, she was the top Falcon finisher in each of the final six races.
Following Culp, the next two BGSU finishers were freshmen, as Andrea Pollack was fifth in a time of 19:41, and Bridget Dalic placed sixth (19:45). Junior Melissa Krueger was seventh (19:49).
Each of BGSU's top-two female finishers, Culp and Pollack, were racing in their hometown. Both runners are products of Ann Arbor Pioneer High School.
Sophomore Caroline Kipchaba was 14th in Saturday's race (20:22), while junior Elise Gould was 15th (20:28). Junior Nicole Suitor (17th, 20:32), sophomores Emily Jackson (20th, 20:44) and Leslie Carden (21st, 21:03), freshman Kim Settle (22nd, 21:11) and freshman Jayme Ramson (25th, 21:45) also competed for the Falcons in the EMU Open.
In the men's race, Ramirez finished in a time of 21:39 in his first-ever race as a Falcon. EMU alumnus Ryan Desgrange was the top finisher in the 25-man, four-mile competition, in a time of 20:59.
Junior Steve Vairetta, was the Falcons' second finisher, placing 15th in a time of 22:43. The Falcons of head coach Cami Wells had five men's runners, including four newcomers, entered in the race.
Vairetta was followed by junior Patrick Maynard (16th, 22:56), BGSU's lone returning runner in action Saturday. Freshmen Jeff Wright (17th, 23:13) and Jacob Smith (21st, 24:02) rounded out the Falcon runners.
Junior Kris Lachowski, scheduled to compete in the race, set out due to tonsillitis.
"I was pleased with the efforts by both squads today," said Wells. "Amber Culp led the race from start to finish and looked very strong throughout.
"I was also very pleased with Andrea Pollack, Bridget Dalic and Melissa Krueger. They all competed well and finished in a nice pack. This is a good solid start to their season.
"Caroline Kipchaba had her best race since coming to BG. Caroline has worked very hard this summer and she had a solid race today. Elise Gould ran a strong last half of the race to move up to the 6th spot on the team.
"Our goal was to be aggressive and to run up to our potential as a team. I am happy with the aggressiveness they showed, and the team outcome was about what we were shooting for today. We still need to close up the gap between Amber and our second through fourth runners, and also work on closing up the gap between our number four runner and our five, six and seven runners.
"On the men's side we ran a partial squad, with just five runners competing. It was the first collegiate race for freshmen Edgar Ramirez and Jeff Wright. Edgar ran strong from start to finish. He is an aggressive runner with a bright future.
"Jeff Wright raced hard today. He is still fairly fatigued from the intensity of the last few weeks of practice but had a solid start to his collegiate career. This was the first cross country meet Steve Vairetta, our number-two runner, has ever competed in and he did a great job. Steve, a former member of the men's track team, has made the transition from running the 400 meters on the track to cross country. It is a completely different type of training for Steve and he has been building up his mileage since last spring. Steve is a real competitor. I look for good things from him as he continues to get stronger.
"Now it is back to training and time to get ready to take on Toledo."
Both the Falcon men and women will compete with full squads in the teams' next action. BGSU will host the University of Toledo in a dual scheduled for Friday (Sept. 5). The women's race is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m., while the men's race (5K) is set for a 5:45 p.m. start. The meet is the first of two consecutive home races for the Falcons, as BGSU will host the Mel Brodt Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13.
