Bowling Green State University Athletics
Cross Country Hosts The Annual Falcon Invitational This Saturday
October 11, 2007 | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 11, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's and women's cross country teams will return home for the first time in three weeks when they play host to the Falcon Invitational this Saturday at Forrest Creason Golf Course. The women's 5,000-meter race will kick things off at 10:45 a.m., with the men's 8,000-meter race following shortly after at 11:30 a.m.
The event will be the fifth of the fall season for the two squads as they approach the Mid-American Conference Championships, which will be hosted by Central Michigan University and will take place in two and half weeks (Sat., Oct. 13) in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
This past weekend the teams took part in the All-Ohio Championships in Delaware, Ohio where the women finished seventh and the men finished 24th. The Falcon women were led by the freshmen duo of Ashley Fischer (Fremont, Ohio) and Barbara Powers (Bowling Green, Ohio), who finished 28th and 29th respectively. The Falcon men were again paced by sophomore Eddie Kipchoge (Eldoret, Kenya), who finished fifth in the men's individuals.
High temperatures and humidity made the race difficult for the runners, as some would succumb to the elements and were forced to drop out of the competition. However, despite the rough conditions, head coach Cami Wells liked what she was seeing from her team.
"The course in Delaware is extremely tough because of all the large hills and the temps on Friday were high 80's, so it was a brutal day for cross country running," said Wells. "I was proud of the way the teams got out there and competed. I felt both squads ran hard. The conditions took more of a toll on some than others, but the effort was good from everyone who raced."
For the Falcon women, the race marked the third time this season that they finished in the top 10 in non-dual race. The BG women came into the weekend ranked 15th in the Division I Great Lakes Regional poll due to their early season efforts, as five Falcons finished 73rd or better in the race.
"The women had a solid team performance," said Wells. "We are still working on getting our No. 5 runner closer to our 1-4 runners though. We weren't pleased to get beat by three MAC schools, so we'll have to do a better job against them in our final three meets. Overall a lot of positive things though with Ashley Fischer and Barbara Powers earning All-Ohio honors by placing in the top 20 of the DI [Division I] runners and Kara Butler and Carly Bates finishing much higher than they did in this meet last year."
Fischer would be the top finishing Falcon for the fourth-time in her first-collegiate season, as she came across the tape with a time of 19:36.5. Powers, who finished right behind her, would come across the line just three tenths of a second later.
"Ashley and Barbara really worked well together and got themselves into the mix of things up front early," said Wells. "I thought they both ran very well, but I know they can still run better and I know neither of them was completely satisfied. They continue to expect more of themselves, which is exactly what makes them so special and what drives them to work so hard week after week."
Not far back of the two freshmen front-runners was the duo of junior Kara Butler (Okemos, Mich.) and sophomore Carly Bates (Palatine, Ill.), who would finish 34th and 39th on the day. Senior Lyndi Springer (Celina, Ohio) then rounded out the Falcon runners in top 100, as she finished her day coming across the line in the 73rd position (20:45.4).
"Like Ashley and Barbara, the same is true of Kara [Butler] and Carly [Bates]," said Wells. "Really with a 23 second spread from 1-4 it is very evident how well they are working together. I also thought that Lyndi Springer did a great job for us, as well as Chelsey Woods, who competed in the open race but would have been our No. 5 runner had she run the same time in the championship race. Every day these young ladies and their teammates give their all and they are starting to see the results on meet days, but we still have yet to have our best team race, so I am excited to see what they can accomplish in the coming weeks."
On the men's side it was all about Kipchoge again, as he continued his torrid pace to eclipsing his accomplishments as a freshman. The Eldoret, Kenya native finished fifth at the All-Ohio meet, running a time of 26:02.9 to earn his third top 10 finish of the season. This came one week after he ran the fastest time by any BGSU men's runner in the past 14 years with a time of 24:16.37 at the Greater Louisville Classic.
"Eddie ran a strong race," said Wells. "He was very disappointed not to be able to defend his title, but he gave a great effort. The heat started to get to Eddie mid-way through the race, but he stayed tough and gutted out a strong effort."
The harsh conditions took their toll on the rest of the men's team however, as two Falcons were unable to finish the race and one was held out to prevent injury.
"We held Johnstone Kirui out of the race this past weekend, but will race him this Saturday," Wells said. "Brad Wells ended up passing out during the race and was taken to the hospital, but is recovering well and will be back, while Aaron Smuda was also unable to finish, but is improving and will also be back this weekend."
Without three of the Falcon men's main runners, senior Curtis Farnsel (Metamora, Ohio) would try his best to make-up for the loss, as he finished 123rd, running a time of 28:57.9. Coming across the line just 27 spots later in the 150th position would be freshman Christopher Moody (Davidsonville, Md.), who ran a time of 29:29.6, while freshmen Jeff Ehler (171st), John Bernard( 182nd) and senior Kevin Kaughlin (189th) rounded out the men's results.
"Having Johnstone, Brad and Aaron out forced the rest of the team to step up and they did," said Wells. "Curtis Farnsel had a much better race and finished No. 2 for us in the championship race, which is the first time Curtis has been our No. 2 runner in his career.
"The gutsy race of the day was run by freshman Jesse Smuda in the open race," Wells continued. "He ran a 28:44, which would have made him our No. 2 runner had he run the championship race."
With the fall season now half-way done, the Falcons have seen some big accomplishments in the first four races. They have also seen their share of disappointments and opportunities go by the way-side due to injury, but still they haven't lost sight of their main goals.
"I am very pleased with the attitude and effort of both teams to this point," said Wells. "We have had struggles with health on the men's side, but they are fighting through and that will pay off. We have done well with the women's team, but they are not close to satisfied yet and will have there best meets ahead. Our main goal is always the MAC meet so we never lose sight of that, but that being said, we want to give the home crowd a good showing this Saturday and do everything within our power to bring home a team title."
Kipchoge Named Ohio Division I Men's Runner of the Year and Freshman Runner of the Year
This past weekend in Delaware, Ohio at the All-Ohio Championships, Bowling Green State University sophomore men's runner, Eddie Kipchoge, was named the Ohio Division I Men's Runner of the Year and Freshman Runner of the Year for the 2006 season.
Kipchoge, who won four of the seven races he competed in his first-collegiate season, was named Mid-American Conference Runner of the Week on three occasions and finished just one slot of shy of competing for Nationals, as he became the Falcons highest finisher at the Great Lakes Regional since 1986.
"Eddie had an outstanding year last year and is well on his way to eclipsing that this year," said coach Cami Wells on the achievement. "I felt Eddie was very deserving of the awards and could not be more pleased for him."
Women's Great Lakes Region Ranking #3
Teams (last week)
1. Michigan State (3) -- OFF
2. Michigan (1) -- "B" Teams at Michigan Intercollegiate
3. Wisconsin (2) -- OFF
4. Marquette (5) -- OFF
5. Notre Dame (4) -- OFF
6. Butler (12) -- OFF
7. Miami - OH (11) -- Won All-Ohio Championships over OU, Akron, Cinn, BGSU, etc.
8. Ohio (8) -- Lost to Miami at All-Ohio but beat Akron
9. Akron (7) -- Lost to Miami, Ohio. Ran without one of top-5
10. Purdue (9) -- OFF
11. Cincinnati (10) -- Lost to Miami, Ohio and Akron at All-Ohio
12. Ball State (12) -- OFF
13. Central Michigan (13) -- Won Michigan Intercollegiate
14. Toledo (14) -- OFF
15. Bowling Green (15) -- Finished 7th at All-Ohio
Competing Teams At Falcon Invite
Cleveland State W
Dayton W
Eastern Michigan W
Glen Oaks CC- M/W
Miami of Ohio W
Niagara M & W
Ohio Northern M/W
Ohio State W
Qwens CC 1M, 1W
Schoolcraft 6W
Wright State M/W
Buffalo M/W
Toledo M/ W
Siena Heights M/W
Kent State M/W
Lansing CC M/W
Michigan Monarchs M/W
Detroit Mercy M/W
Rio Grande M/W
Case Western Reserve
Unattached M/W
