Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women Finish Third, Men Sixth At Central Collegiates
September 26, 2003 | Men's Cross Country
Sept. 26, 2003
THREE RIVERS, Mich. - Senior Amber Culp finished third among individuals as the Bowling Green State University women's cross country team placed third at the seven-team Central Collegiates Friday afternoon (Sept. 26). The meet, hosted by Western Michigan University, was held at the Pine View Golf Club.
The Falcon men placed sixth as a team, with freshman Edwin Cheruiyot pacing the Brown and Orange individually.
Culp posted a time of 17:50, finishing 16 seconds behind individual winner Jill Scully of Ball State. Culp was the top Falcon finisher for the 11th consecutive race, dating to last season.
The Falcons had a team score of 88, trailing Ball State (40) and Western Michigan (54). Loyola (93) was fourth, followed by UW-Milwaukee (101), Illinois at Chicago (114) and Wright State (208).
Freshman Bridget Dalic was BGSU's second finisher in the 5,000-meter, 72-woman race. Dalic placed 15th overall in a time of 18:42. BGSU's other finishers included junior Melissa Krueger (19th, 18:48), senior Leighann Kramer (24th, 18:57), freshman Andrea Pollack (27th, 19:01), sophomores Caroline Kipchaba (32nd, 19:07) and Emily Jackson (43rd, 19:30), freshman Kim Settle (45th, 19:36) and sophomore Leslie Carden (49th, 19:50).
Both Kramer and Kipchaba ran personal-record times for the Falcons.
For the BGSU men, Cheruiyot led the way with a 23rd-place finish in the 8K, 50-man race. Cheruiyot crossed the finish line in a time of 26:39.65.
 Edwin Cheruiyot led the Falcon men at the Central Collegiates  |
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Half of the Falcons' eight-man contingent -- Ramirez, Briard, Wright and Vairetta -- ran personal-best times Friday.
As a team, the Falcons had a score of 142. Host WMU won the race with 27 points, followed by UW-Milwaukee (59), Wright State (74), Loyola (105), Illinois at Chicago (127) and BGSU. WMU's Chris Stine was the individual winner, in a time of 24:58.59.
"I was disappointed in the (women's) third-place finish, especially because we were beaten by two MAC teams," said Falcon head coach Cami Wells. "But, on the other hand, we beat some strong teams like Loyola and Illinois at Chicago, running without two of our top seven runners.
"We also had two ladies, Leighann and Caroline, PR. I am particularly pleased with Leighann. She has struggled with injuries for four years, and is running the best I have ever seen her race. Caroline also ran a nice race today.
"We also got a season-best time from Amber Culp. She ran a strong race and continues to be a great lead runner for us. Bridget Dalic and Melissa Krueger have been consistent and solid every week.
"We knew it would be tougher this week without Niki Suitor and Elise Gould, and Andrea is still getting over a cold. So, all things considered, it's hard to be too disappointed.
"Four of the eight men we took to the meet ran personal-best times. We also got season-best times from Edwin, Kris and Patrick. I was pleased to see the men bring down their times and continue to race as a team. I was also pleased to see Edwin get out quicker and lead the team. He is still getting in shape and looks better every week. Edgar has been solid every week, and Kris ran a much more competitive race to move up to the number-three spot.
"The men improved as a team this week, and we just have to keep focusing on improving every time we race. They are continuing to work toward their goals and are making progress.
"With both teams, we are continuing to work on cutting down the gap between runners. I want to see a spread of only 30 to 45 seconds between our top runner and our fifth runner, and we will keep working on closing that gap."
The Falcons are idle from competition next weekend, before heading to Alabama for the Auburn Invitational on Friday, Oct. 10.
