Falcons Fight Through The Elements At 2019 MAC Championships

Saturday, November 2

DeKalb, IL

12:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

MAC Cross Country Championships

November 02, 2019 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

By: By Kellan Godfrey, BGSU Athletic Communications

DEKALB, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University men's and women's cross country teams took to a cold and snowy NIU North 40 XC Course for the 2019 Mid–American Conference Championships on Saturday (Nov. 2) afternoon. The BGSU men's team took eighth place overall in team scoring with 190 points, while the women's team earned 10^th place overall earning 251 points.

Men's 8k Event
The Men's 8k event saw 72 total competitors representing the nine MAC men's cross country teams. The Falcons earned a team score of 190 earning them an eighth place finish in the field.

Individual Performances

Coming in first for the Bowling Green Falcons in the MAC men's 8k event was sophomore Cesar Arellano coming in 17^th overall with a time of 26:05.7. This was his fourth race of the 2019 season, and his second time in a row finishing first for BGSU in team scoring. He finished first for Bowling Green at Bradley two weeks ago (Oct. 18).
Junior Kyle Hibinger finished second in team scoring for Bowling Green and 33^rd overall with a time of 26:32.5. This was his fourth race of the season, his fourth 8k race and just his second time competing in the MAC Championships.
Senior Jonathan Voth finished third for BGSU coming in 40^th place overall with a time of 26:41.1. This was his third time competing in the MAC Championships and his foruth race of the season.
Not far behind Voth was freshman AJ Haffa finishing fourth for the Falcons and 44^th overall. His finishing time was 26:48.9. This was his fifth race of the 2019 season and his first time competing for the MAC Championships.
Bowling Green's fifth finisher in team scoring was Raymond Berling. The redshirt junior finished 63^rd overall with a time of 27:25.9. This was just his third race of the season.
The Falcons had three other competitors in the field including Gabe Garbarino, Joseph Johnson III and Vince Manning. Junior Gabe Garbarino finished 65^th overall with a time of 27:29.9. Joseph Johnson III finished 69^th in 27:53.6, and Vince Manning finished 72^nd in 28:28.9.

Coach Juan Carrillo's Take
"It was a disappointing finish for us today. We were not aggressive enough the first half of the race. We didn't run as a collective group and some of our guys didn't have the race we expected them to have. We will learn from today and move on to be ready for regionals in two weeks. Cesar Arellano placed 25 places better than last year which was good improvement. AJ Haffa had a solid performance and was our top freshman."

FULL MEN'S RESULTS

Women's 6k Event
The Women's 6k event saw 101 participants in total representing the 12 MAC women's cross country teams. Bowling Green finished with a team score of 251 earning them a 10^th place finish.

Individual Performances

Coming in first in the 6k for the Orange and Brown was sophomore Katerina Shuble in 19^th place overall with a time of 22:34.0. This was her second time competing for the MAC Championships and her third time finishing first for Bowling Green this season.
Sydney Niekamp finished second in team scoring for the Falcons and 50^th overall with a time of 23:20.4. This was her first time competing at the MAC Championships for BGSU and her fourth race of the season.
Coming in third place in team scoring for Bowling Green was redshirt junior Allison Holahan. She finished 57^th overall with a time of 23:27.6. This was her second time competing in the MAC Championships, and her second time running in NIU this season.
Finishing fourth for BGSU was redshirt sophomore Megan Aalberts coming in 61^st place overall in 23:37.1. This was her third career time competing for the conference championships.
Junior Sarah Hunsley came in fifth in team scoring for the Falcons and 70^th overall with a time of 23:54.1. This was her second race of the 2019 season and her second time competing for the Mid- American Conference title.
Bowling Green also had freshman Sydnie Firment and redshirt sophomore Allie Zofkie competing in the 6 k race. Firment finished 93^rd overall in 24:54.3, and Zofkie finished 95^th overall in 25:01.3.

Head Coach Lou Snelling's Take
"Today we were individually all over the place having a few good performances and some challenging ones. Katerina Shuble was the obvious highlights with being in the mix for an All-MAC performance. She moved up nicely from last year. Our job now is to quickly get refocused on the NCAA Regional Championships and perform at a team level we are capable of."

FULL WOMEN'S RESULTS

Up Next
The Orange and Brown will compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional events. This year, the event will be held in Madison, Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 15.

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'