Bowling Green State University Athletics
Culp Finishes Third At Toledo Invitational
September 20, 2003 | Men's Cross Country
Sept. 20, 2003
TOLEDO, Ohio - Senior Amber Culp posted a third-place finish as the Bowling Green State University cross country teams competed in the University of Toledo Invitational Saturday (Sept. 20). On the men's side, freshman Edgar Ramirez was the top Falcon finisher. No team scores were kept in the races, which were held at Ottawa Park Golf Course.
Culp posted a time of 17:59, leading the Falcon women for the 10th consecutive race, dating to last season. Freshman Bridget Dalic was the second BGSU finisher, placing 13th overall in a time of 18:48 in the 5K, 58-woman race.
Other Falcon finishers for the women included Melissa Krueger (16th, 18:53), Andrea Pollack (19th, 19:01), Leighann Kramer (25th, 19:13), Caroline Kipchaba (26th, 19:13), Elise Gould (38th, 19:52), Emily Jackson (39th, 19:59), Leslie Carden (40th, 20:07), Kim Settle (41st, 20:12) and Jayme Ramson (48th, 21:21).
Former UT runner Briana Shook, competing unattached, won the race in a time of 17:03.
Ramirez paced the BGSU men in a time of 27:04, placing 26th of 49 runners in the 8K race. Ramirez was followed by Patrick Maynard (29th, 27:33), Edwin Cheriuyot (30th, 27:37), Vivien Briard (33rd, 27:54), Kris Lachowski (36th, 28:03), Jeff Wright (42nd, 28:46), Steve Vairetta (45th, 29:05), Jake Smith (46th, 30:12) and Aaron Hemmelgarn (49th, 33:45).
Kent State's James Sjostram won the men's race, finishing in 25:03.
"Overall, I am pleased with the effort by both teams today," said Falcon head coach Cami Wells. "We had a tough week of practice and they performed well all week, then they came out today and raced hard.
"The men were much more competitive than last weekend. The spread between our number-one to number-five runner was 59 seconds this week, as compared to 2:33 last week. The men have started to gel as a team and are focusing on steady improvement from day to day and meet to meet. I am proud of their effort today.
 Amber Culp led the Falcon women for the 10th consecutive race  |
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"Edwin Cheriyot's knee is healing nicely and he is on his way back. Vivien Briard continues to get stronger as does Kris Lachowski, who had a much better effort today than last week. Vivien, Jeff Wright and Jake Smith all set personal records today.
"On the down side, Mario Rothmund's request for a medical hardship was denied late yesterday (Friday) afternoon. Although this is a disappointment for Mario and the team, we will continue to move forward and work to improve. Mario will now serve as a volunteer assistant with the cross country squads."
Rothmund competed in Saturday's race as an unattached runner, finishing in a time of 25:33.
"The women had some trials to deal with today," said Wells. "But, for every person who had a rough day, there was another teammate there to pick up the slack. This team really works well together and fights every time they step out on the course.
"Niki Suitor pulled a hamstring early in the race and was forced to drop out. Although Niki was disappointed, she will just have to take it easy for a few days, and then she is expected to return to normal training.
"Andrea Pollack had a rough day because she suffers from serious allergies which really affected her breathing. Andrea is a real competitor though, and gained a lot of ground the final mile of the race to move up to our number-four spot.
"Amber Culp continued her impressive season with a third place finish behind Briana Shook and Everlyn Lagat, who are both All-American cross country and track runners. Amber had a great race. She was very aggressive and mentally tough today. She beat several individuals she has never beaten before and really showed she is ready to compete with anyone.
"Our numbers two and three runners today, Bridget Dalic and Melissa Krueger, continue to be solid performers for us, week in and week out. That type of consistency is vital to our team success. Senior Leighann Kramer had her best finish ever, crossing the line in 19:13 as our number-five runner, with Caroline Kipchaba right behind her. Caroline also ran a personal best of 19:13. Leighann has been through a lot the past four years as far as injury and illness. She knew she needed to step up and get it done today, and she got out there and did just that. I couldn't be more pleased."
While the meets weren't officially scored, unofficial scores were as follows for the four Mid-American Conference women's schools: Toledo 40, BGSU 76, Kent State 76 and Ohio 167.
The Falcon teams now will prepare for the Central Collegiates, which will be held Friday (Sept. 26) in Kalamazoo, Mich.
