Falcon Men Earn MAC Runner-Up Status; Three Falcons Place In Top Three At Championships

Saturday, October 27

Toledo, Ohio

11:00 AM

Bowling Green State University

MAC Championships

Falcon Men Earn MAC Runner-Up Status; Three Falcons Place In Top Three At Championships

October 27, 2018 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

TOLEDO, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University cross country programs fought through the weather conditions and came away with a solid showing at the 2018 MAC Championships. Both the men and women's teams had at least one runner in the top three for their respective races in Toledo.

For the men's program, the team runner-up finish is the culmination of a tremendous turnaround and a rejuvenation of a once-storied program. It was the highest finish since the team won the MAC Championship in 1995. From 2002 through 2014, the men's team finished last or next-to-last in the conference standings each year. But BGSU began to make strides with a seventh place finish in 2015, improved to fifth in 2016 and then climbed to third in 2017, before this year's impressive results.

Women's 6k Event
The women's event was the first on the day, starting at 11 am. A slight drizzle and breeze made for unpleasant racing conditions, but the team continued to push throughout the race, competing with a total of 105 individuals. As a team, the women concluded with a seventh place finish, improving two spots from last year.

Rachel Walny was the first Falcon across the finish line, coming in third for the event. Walny was at the front of the pack for the entire race, helping set the pace for the event. She finished with a time of 20:41.9 behind Athena Welsh of Toledo and Natalie Cizmas of Eastern Michigan.
The next BGSU runner to finish was Sarah Hunsley in 20th. For the second time this year, Hunsley set a new personal record, this time concluding the race in 21:46.8. She crossed the finish line with a group of Rockets, with one Toledo runner in front and two behind her.
Katerina Shuble was the next Bowling Green runner to finish, coming in 32nd. She pushed to the end, just barely missing another spot by :00.5 behind Lindsey Scarton of Akron. Her time of 22:11.8 was an improvement over her first collegiate 6k time from earlier in the year, setting a new personal best.
The next to cross in the orange and brown was Jessi Lindstrom, who came in 39th with a time of 22:23.9. Lindstrom edged off Ashleigh Simonis of Eastern Michigan, who came in 40th, by just :00.2.
Megan Aalberts and Allison Holahan both recorded new personal bests for the 6k. Aalberts improved her time by over a minute, setting her new best at 22:52.9. Holahan set a new best for the second consecutive race, finishing in 23:11.4
Claire Reynolds and Allie Zofkie also participated for BGSU.

The Falcons have shown improvement throughout this season and have made strides as a team. "If you look back on last year and the comparisons, we moved forward," said Coach Lou Snelling. That improvement has been led by Rachel Walny who was once again at the front of the race, competing in her final MAC Championship. "You have to be so proud of her," said Coach Snelling. "She couldn't have done anything differently. She put it all out there, great last MAC Championship for her."

FULL WOMEN'S RESULTS

Men's 8k Event
On the men's side of the day, the conditions were just the same when the race began at noon. Despite the wet course, the team was able to put together a second place finish behind the efforts of Noah Schaub and Tyler Phillips who both finished in the Top 3 of the 75 participants.

The Falcons were led by Noah Schaub, who was in the Top 2 for nearly the entire race. Schaub concluded with a 2nd place finish, behind Josh Park of Ohio, with a time of 24:26.6. Schaub has been the team's first to finish in each event this year.
Tyler Phillips was not far behind Schaub hustling to a third place finish and a new personal best. Phillips was fighting for spots for most of the race en route to a time of 24:35.7, over a second in front of fourth place finisher Caleb Covell of Buffalo.
BGSU's next finisher was Jonathan Voth who crossed in 21st. Voth's time of 25:18.9 missed setting a new personal best by just :00.4
The next runners in the orange and brown to finish were Kyle Hibinger and Jonathan Wenning. Hibinger crossed in 25:31.5 for a 26th place finish and Wenning came in 39th with a time of 25:43.0.
A pair of freshman finished next for Bowling Green. Cesar Arellano came in 41st, finishing in 25:49.3 while Abel Nijakowski placed in 45th with a time of 25:55.2.
Paul Garbarino and Raymond Berling also participating for BGSU.

The men recorded their best finish at the MAC Championship since they won it in 1995. Last year, the team finished third. "I'm proud of the guys and happy with the progress," said Assistant Coach Juan Carrillo. "For a team that doesn't have a men's track program to come here and take second, that's a big accomplishment." Led by Noah Schaub and Tyler Phillips, it was an impressive day for the men's team. "We're so proud of what they did today," said Coach Lou Snelling. "We couldn't be happier for those guys."

FULL MEN'S RESULTS

All-MAC Honors
The Falcons also had a trio of runners earn spots on the All-MAC teams. For the women's side, Rachel Walny earned a spot on the All-MAC First Team for the fourth time in her collegiate career. Noah Schaub and Tyler Phillips also were named All-MAC First Team following the event. For Schaub, this was his second time earning All-MAC and it was the first time for Phillips.

Up Next
Bowling Green will have a quick turnaround as the team prepares for the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals. This year, Regionals will take place in Terre Haute, Ind. on Friday, Nov. 9th. The Falcons had a test run of the course on September 15 at the John McNichols Invitational.

Follow The Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons cross country teams throughout the season on social media.
Twitter – @BGAthletics and @BG_XCTrack
Instagram – 'bgfalcons' and 'bg_xctrack'
Facebook – 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube – 'Falcon Athletics'