Bowling Green State University Athletics
Cross Country Hosts 22nd Annual Mel Brodt Invitational
September 08, 2008 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Sept. 8, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's and women's cross country teams will host the 22nd Annual Mel Brodt Invitational this Saturday starting at 2 p.m. on the BGSU campus. The competition named after the legendary Falcon coach will kick-off with the women's 5,000 meter race, which will be followed shortly after with the men's 8,000 meter race, scheduled to start at 2:45.
This weekend's event will mark the second race of the 2008 campaign for the two Falcon squads, after an opening weekend split with arch-rival Toledo on Aug. 29. The Falcon women came away from the dual-meet with a 22 to 34 win, while the men fell 23 to 32.
For BG head coach Cami Wells and her team, the women's race went just as planned, as the women came into the season with high expectations and got their season started on a positive note with a dominating performance.
"The women's team was happy with the start of the season," said Wells. "This is the first time we have run a 3K in cross country competition, so that was something new for the team. Most individuals had a good day, some had a great day and a few had kind of an off day."
"I thought that Kara Butler, Kylie Korsnack, Heather Conger and Autumn Dettmann all had break through performances to start the season," Wells continued. "The women's team ran well and it was a good starting point to the season. Now we know where we need to continue to work and we got the first race jitters out of the way. Our main focus is the MAC meet Nov. 1st, so this is just the first step to getting to that meet and being ready to compete.
Butler would take top honors in the race to earn her first collegiate victory, as she ran a time of 10:29 to finish just ahead of senior teammate Korsnack. Korsnack ran a time of 10:44 to earn second, while senior Jamie Roflow came across the line in fifth with a time of 10:48.
On the men's side, Christopher Moody also earned his first collegiate win for the Falcons, as he took the men's 5K race with a time of 15:59. However, a two, three, four and five finish by the UT men would ruin any chance at a Falcon victory, as Aaron Smuda and Jesse Smuda were the next highest finishing Falcons, coming across the line in sixth and seventh-place, respectively.
"The men's team felt ok with the first meet, but we definitely didn't reach our goals," said Wells. We still had some decent individual races though and we know we need to work on being more aggressive at the start of the race."
"Chris [Moody] had a nice race and it was encouraging to see him step in where he left off last fall," Wells continued. "He worked a lot harder this summer than did last year and that showed against Toledo. With Eddie [Kipchoge] out we have a need for some leaders to emerge on the men's team and Chris is one of those guys who has to step up."
Moody had a good showing a year ago at the Mel Brodt, finishing in the 68th-position to earn the No. 1 finishing spot for the BG men. The men would finish 11th in the race, while the women earned the fourth-spot.
On the women's side, Ashley Fischer would place ninth in the race a season ago, while Barbara Powers and Carly Wells finished in the 16th and 19th spots, respectively.
Ohio University earned its second-consecutive Mel Brodt title on the women's side last year with a team score of 49, placing five runners in the top 25. Malone College took home the men's crown with a score of 23, after placing six runners in the top-25 and five in the top-10.
With the past weekend free of any competitions, the Falcons had an extra week to get ready for the upcoming weekend, but instead of changing up their training schedule, they stuck to a plan they have laid out for the entire fall.
"Our training plan is laid out for the entire season from summer training through the regional meet," said Wells. "So the workouts we are doing at this point in the season are still higher mileage and longer tempo runs. We will start to add more speed work and intervals as the season progresses, but we always focus on trying to close up gaps between runners and getting the most we can out of each day."
About the Legend, Mel Brodt
In its 22nd year of competition, the Mel Brodt Cross Country Invitational pays homage to legendry BGSU cross country and track coach Mel Brodt.
One of the finest distance running coaches in the country, Brodt retired from coaching in 1984 after 25 years at the helm of the cross country squad (men's), as well as 20 years as head of the men's track and field team.
During his illustrious career at BGSU, he coached four-straight top 10 squads in the NCAA Championships in cross country from 1969-1972. The Brodt led Falcons also won the 1969 MAC Cross Country Championship and finished in the runner-up spot on seven other occasions.
Brodt's track and field teams won seven major championships, including the 1972 MAC title. BGSU would also take second place in the 1972 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Brodt was inducted into the Ohio Association of Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 1970, and entered the Ohio Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1984. He also was the recipient of the Ed Baker Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to track and field in Ohio, and was inducted into the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988. Shortly before his death in December of 2002, Brodt would become a member of the U.S. Track Coaches Hall of Fame in October of 2002.
Competing Teams
Ashland Men & Women
Baldwin Wallace Men & Women
Cleveland State Women
Concordia Men & Women
Eastern Michigan Men -men's team ranked preseason #1 in the MAC
IPFW Men &Women -Has some strong front runners on the women's team
Kent State Men & Women -Has solid men's and women's team
Niagara University Men & Women
Northern Kentucky Men & Women -Men's team ranked #20 NCAA DII preseason
Ohio State Women -Has some strong front runners
Olivet Nazarene Men & Women
Schoolcraft Men & Women
Tiffin Men & Women
Urbana University Men & Women
