Falcons Reach Milestones In Great Lakes Regional Championships

Friday, November 12

Evansville, Ind.

12 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Angel Mounds)

Photo by: Evansville Athletics

November 12, 2021 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Women's 6k Results Men's 10k Results

By: Pershelle Rohrer, BGSU Strategic Communications

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Bowling Green men's and women's cross country teams traveled to the University of Evansville on Friday, Nov. 12, to compete in the Great Lakes Regional Championships for the first time since 2019. The Falcon women earned a 14^th place team score for their best regional finish in six years, while the men finished 25th with all seven runners recording personal bests. Kailee Perry (54^th) and Cesar Arellano (101^st) were the top Falcon finishers in their respective events.

Women's 6K Event
The women's 6k race saw 293 runners competing from 31 schools. The Orange and Brown finished 14^th as a team, compiling 432 points total for their best finish in the event since 2015. Notre Dame (56 points) and Wisconsin (69 points) finished first and second to earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, and Michigan (81 points), Michigan State (87 points), and Butler (119 points) rounded out the top five. The Falcons placed fourth among Mid-American Conference teams, with only Toledo (seventh), Miami (tenth), and Akron (12^th) finishing higher.

Individual Performances

Kailee Perry finished first for the Falcons and 54^th overall in her first Great Lakes Regional race. She crossed the finish line at 21:06.8 for her best performance of the season and her best time since the 2020 Mid-American Conference Championships, where she ran a 20:41.0 6k to take home the individual MAC title.
Katerina Shuble came in second for Bowling Green, finishing 68^th overall with a time of 21:18.8. She earned the best Great Lakes Regional time of her career, eclipsing her 2018 time of 22:14.7 by nearly a minute.
Sydney Niekamp was the third Falcon to finish the race, completing the 6k in 21:52.0 to finish 94^th. She surpassed her previous Great Lakes Regional time of 22:12.2 from 2019 by 20 seconds.
Elise Johnson finished fourth for the Orange and Brown, earning a personal best time of 22:03.5 en route to a 106^th place finish. Her previous best time came at the Paul Short Run on Oct. 1, where she ran the 6k in 22:15.7. This was her first time competing in the Great Lakes Regionals.
Emma Steingass finished 110^th overall with a time of 22:06.3 to round out the top five Falcon finishers. The freshman shattered her previous best of 22:44.9, set in the Mid-American Conference Championships on Oct. 30, by 38 seconds in her second race in a Falcon uniform.
Olivia Collett and Raegan Burkey also competed in the event for the Falcons, both earning personal best 6k times. Collett finished 137th, crossing at 22:33.4 to surpass her Paul Short Run time by 0.1 second. Burkey claimed 149^th place with a time of 22:45.3 to beat her Mid-American Conference Championship time by 17 seconds.

Coach Lou Snelling's Take
"Team wise we improved upon our ranking going into the meet. Top 15 is a respectable standard in the Great Lakes Region, historically one of the most competitive in the country. Individually our bookends had good days. Kailee had her best meet of the fall, almost breaking 21 minutes in her first regional championship. True freshman Emma Steingass also took a big step as our 5th runner, nearly breaking 22 minutes. Ultimately this was the first time five of our seven had competed at this meet. We look forward to bringing back almost the entire squad next year."

Men's 10K Event
The men's 10k race featured 205 athletes from 30 schools. Bowling Green finished 25^th in the event, tallying 666 points. The men's team finishers looked familiar, with the same five teams filling in the top five spots in identical order to the women. Notre Dame (37 points) and Wisconsin (87 points) received the automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, and Michigan (106 points), Michigan State (110 points), and Butler (116 points) finished third, fourth, and fifth.

Individual Performances

Cesar Arellano was the top Falcon finisher, completing the race in 32:11.4 to place 101^st in the 10k event. The time marks a new personal best in the 10k, beating his 2018 Great Lakes Regional time of 32:41.4 by 30 seconds.
AJ Haffa also earned a new personal best 10k time in the event, placing 107^th overall with a time of 32:20.2. His previous best time came from 2019 Great Lakes Regionals, where he completed the race in 32:58.8.
Christian Gagliardi placed third for Bowling Green and 146^th overall in his first collegiate 10k race. He crossed the finish line at 33:10.5.
Charlie Nowinski was the fourth Falcon to cross the finish line, earning a 155^th place spot and a time of 33:27.1 in his first collegiate 10k race.
Joseph Johnson III came in just behind Nowinski to round out the top five Falcon finishers. He placed 157^th, recording a time of 33:30.5 to take nearly a minute and a half off his previous best. He previously ran a 34:54.0 in the 2019 Great Lakes Regionals.
Mikey Worboy and Liam Seiple also earned personal bests in the 10k. Worboy finished 175^th with a time of 34:00.1, and Seiple completed the race in 35:11.9 to finish 190^th overall.

Coach Kelly Leatherman's Take
"Our men fought hard today against the Great Lakes Region. All seven Falcons who toed the line earned new lifetime PRs in the 10k and moved up significantly throughout the race. I am proud of the way we grew as a team this season and I am excited for the next steps we can take as a program."

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'