Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Shine at Great Lakes Regional
November 11, 2006 | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 11, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - It may have been sunny and beautiful on Wednesday and Thursday this week but it sure wasn't this morning at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on the campus of Bowling Green State University. The Falcons had a good showing with the women finishing their highest since coming under the direction of head coach Cami Wells. For the men it was Eddie Kipchoge who made a splash in the region today and lead the team to a 23rd place finish, four spots higher than last season.
Kipchoge was the lead Falcon for the men. He finished the race in 14th place with a time of 31:35. He becomes the first Falcon since 1995 to finish in the top 25 at the Regional meet when Tim Arndt finished 18th. In fact, Kipchoge is the best finisher at the Great Lakes Regional meet since 1986 when Dave Mora finished third. This certainly solidifies Kipchoge as one of the top runners in Falcon history and he has only just begun.
"I think Eddie was certainly disappointed after the MAC meet and he wanted to get into a position to race his own race. He certainly did that and he has a shot at getting into nationals and we'll just have to see tomorrow."
For the women it was the tandem of Kim Settle and Jamie Roflow who lead the race today, but the two had help from five other women who helped to close the gap between themselves to place as high as tenth.
"I was very pleased with the women. Our goal was to finish in the top ten and coming into the meet. The team worked together well and I'm very excited about the future of the squad because we have a young team."
Settle finished 89 spots ahead of her spot from last seasons Great Lakes Regionals. She is ranked 12th all-time with a new personal-best time of 22:23. Her previous best was 22:35. She was the sixth MAC finisher to cross the line.
"This has just been a tremendous cross country season for Kim. She's gotten better and better each year and each week this season. She set a huge PR in the 6K today and she should be very proud of herself."
Jamie Roflow finished the Great Lakes Regional meet this year in 44th place with a time of 22:28. She was the seventh MAC runner across the finish line.
Carly Bates set a new personal record of 22:56 for the 6K putting her 21st on the all-time list. She finished 72nd, which is the highest ranking a Falcon freshman has finished since 2000.
Kara Butler improved from 125th place last year to an 88th place finish this year. She also set a new personal-best of 23:10, 41 seconds better than last year, placing her 23rd on the all-time list.
The final three runners on the women's side were Stephanie Hillman (120; 23:43), Bridget Dalic (151; 24:14) and Kylie Korsnack(156, 24:22).
For the men, the next Orange and Brown runner across the finish line was junior transfer Brad Wells, who finished in the top-100, placing 98th with a time of 33:37. Behind him was Edgar Ramirez (180; 35:45), Rogers Kipchumba (193; 36:21), Hillary Maiyo (196; 36:33), Curtis Farnsel (201; 36:48) and Kevin Kaighin (208; 37:43).
The Falcons will learn whether or not Eddie Kipchoge will earn a bid to the National Championships slated for next Monday tomorrow night. He must earn an at large bid from the NCAA.
The Falcons finish off one of the most successful season under coach Cami Wells.
