Rachel Walny

Photo by: Eric Evans

Rachel Walny 2017 National Championships

Photo by: Eric Evans

Position:
Distance
Class:
Redshirt Senior
High School:
Chippewa Valley
Hometown:
Clinton Township, Mich.

2018-19: (Cross Country) Competed in five races for the Falcons … finished in second place at the Mel Brodt Collegiate Opener; set a new school record in the 5K with a time of 17:06.1 … came in sixth at the Louisville Cross Country Classic of 226; broke the school record in the 5K for the fourth time in her career, and second time this season with a time of 16:58.0 … crossed the finish line in third place of 298 in her first 6K of the season with a time of 20:44.4 … also achieved a third place finish at the MAC Championships (20:41.9) … completed the Great Lakes Regionals in 21:00.1 for a 23rd place finish … earned All-MAC 1st Team … became the first runner in program history to be named All-Region all four years of eligibility. (Indoor) MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-MAC ... Ran the 3000 and 5000 for the Falcons, breaking the school record in the 5000 and qualifying for both events at the MAC Championship … Set the school record in the 5000 with a time of 16:26.14 at the GVSU Holiday Open … Finished fifth at the MAC Championship in the event with a time of 16:42.48 … Set a new career-best time in the 3000 at 9:42.95 at the Doug Raymond Invitational … That time ranks second in school history, exactly three seconds shy of the school record. (Outdoor) Academic All-MAC … Battled injury to return late in the year and qualify for the MAC Championships in the 5,000 and 10,000 … Despite limited training time, posted her best MAC Championships result in her career, finishing second in the 10,000 and third in the 5,000 … Ran the 10,000 in 34:53.64 to earn her third MAC runner-up effort in the event … Posted a time of 16:51.15 in the 5,000 for her best MAC Championship finish in that event – a third-place result … Ran the 3,000 at the Len Paddock Invitational in 10:03.62.

2017-18: (Cross Country) Competed in five of six meets for the Falcons in 2017 ... in her first race of the season, the Spartan Invitational, she finished first of 290 participants, recording a time of 21:19.0 ... recorded a career best time of 17:09.9 in the 5K at the Joe Piane Invitational, finishing third overall and leading her team to a ninth place team finish ... her finish at the Joe Piane Invitational also set a BGSU 5K record time ... also set a career best time, and new school record, in the 6K at the Pre-Nationals Invitational, completing the race in 20:25.0 before finishing sixth overall at the MAC Championships two weeks later ... to conclude her redshirt-junior season, Walny placed 19th at the Great Lakes Regional competition, earning her All-Region honors for the third consecutive year ... was named MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week twice this season (Sept. 20 & Oct. 4) ... also earned MAC Runner of the Week honors (Sept. 19) following her first place finish at the Spartan Invitational ... named to the 2017 Academic All-MAC team. 2017-18: (Indoor) Ran the 3000 and the 5000 for the Falcons, competing at the MAC Championships in both events … Earned a spot on the podium in the 5000, running the event in 16:54.49 to place sixth at the MAC Championships … Had a season-best time and MAC automatic qualifying time of 16:49.69 in the 5000 at the Meyo Invitational, a time that ranks third in school history … Won the 3000 at the Thundering Herd Invitational with a time of 9:49.85 … Placed 10^th at the MAC Championships in the event, running 9:53.24. (Outdoor) Second Team All-MAC … Academic All-MAC … Google Cloud Academic All-District … MAC runner-up in the 10,000 for the second consecutive year after posting a time of 34:09.46 … Also earned a spot on the podium at the MAC Championships in the 5,000 with a time of 16:37.90 to place seventh … Qualified for the NCAA East Region preliminary round in the 10,000 and ended fifth with a time of 34:04.44 to qualify for the National Championships for the second straight year … Ended 18^th at the NCAA Championships in 34:19.02 … Early in the year, broke the school record in the 10,000 with a time of 33:48.22 at the Mt. SAC Relays … MAC Track Athlete of the Week after that performance … In the 5000, ran a personal best time of 16:27.67 at the Raleigh Relays, the third-fastest time in program history … Also ran the 3,000 in 10:07.19 to place second at the Toledo Dual.

2016-17: (Cross Country) Academic All-MAC ... First-team All-MAC ... All-Great Lakes Region ... competed in five of six races for BGSU and was team's top runner in all five ... won Mel Brodt Collegiate Invitational for second consecutive year with 5K time of 17:16.2 ... set BGSU school record and placed 11th in 17:10.7 at Louisville Cross Country Classic 5K ... now owns BGSU school records in 5,000-meters and 6,000-meters ... placed fourth at ISU Pre-Nationals (21:04.9) ... was runner-up at MAC Championships in 20:48.0 for second straight first-team All-MAC honor ... first BGSU runner-up at MACs in 17 years ... placed 23rd overall at NCAA Great Lakes Regional in 20:34.7 ... time was 29 second improvement over Regional time from 2015 and only six seconds shy of school record ... first BGSU runner to be All-Region in back-to-back years since 1997-98. (Indoor) Academic All-MAC … Ran the mile, 3000 and 5000 for the Falcons and also ran on the 1600 relay team once … Won the 5000 at the Thundering Herd Invitational with a MAC automatic qualifying time of 16:46.27 … Her time of 16:46.27 is the second-fastest 5000 race in program history … Placed sixth at the MAC Championships in the 5000 in 17:14.22 … Earned a MAC automatic qualifying time in the 3000 at the GVSU Big Meet with a time of 9:43.93 to place third … That time was the second-fastest in school history … Finished 12^th in the 3000 at the MAC Championships in 10:00.04 … Won the mile at the Tom Wright Classic with a personal best time of 5:08.43 … Placed second in the 1600 relay at the Tom Wright Classic with a time of 4:26.75. (Outdoor) Honorable mention All-American … NCAA qualifier in the 10,000, the first BGSU student-athlete to qualify in the event since 1993 … Placed 18th at the NCAA National Championships in the 10,000 with a time of 34:00.61 … Top MAC finisher in the race at the NCAA National Championships … Second-team All-MAC … Academic All-MAC … Two-time MAC Track Athlete of the Week on March 28 and April 18 … MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on April 19 … Ran all distance events for the Falcons … Qualified for the MAC Championships in the 5,000 and the 10,000, earning a spot on the podium in both events … In the 10,000, was MAC runner-up with a time of 34:11.55, which was 21 seconds faster than the race had ever been run at a MAC Championship before … Earlier in the year, broke the school record at the Mt. SAC Relays in the 10,000 in 34:02.57 … Broke her own school record at the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round with a time of 33:55.49 … Earned MAC automatic qualifying mark in the 5,000 by running 16:37.18 at the Raleigh Relays, the third-fastest time in school history … Finished fourth at the MAC Championships in the 5,000, posting a time of 16:59.42 … Was second in the 3,000 at the UT Dual in 9:59.27 … Ran the 1,500 at the Gina Relays in 4:42.85.

2015-16: (Cross Country) Academic All-MAC … Competed in all six races this season … Placed first for the Falcons all season … Ran a PR 17:20.1 and finished first overall at season opener … Set a career personal record in the 6,000-meter distance at Pre-Nationals, running 22:09 … Finished fifth overall at the MAC Championships, running a 21:06 earning All-MAC honors and MAC Freshman of the Year … Placed 24th overall at NCAA Regionals. (Indoor) Missed the indoor season due to injury. (Outdoor) MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-MAC … Missed the early part of the season with injury but came on late to make an impact for the Falcons … Ran the 1500, 5000 and 10,000, competing in both of the two longer events at the MAC Championships and earning a spot on the medal stand in each … Finished third at the MAC Championships in the 10,000 with a time of 35:06.81 to establish a personal best … In the 5,000, placed seventh at the MAC Championships with a time of 17:05.99 … Had earned a MAC automatic bid in the 5,000 with a personal best time of 16:51.65 at the Gina Relays … Competed in the 1500 just once, posting a time of 4:50.52 at the Ball State Challenge.

2014-15: (Cross Country) Ran unattached in the team's first two meets of the season ... Completed her first collegiate race at the Toledo Invite with a career best time of 17:57. (Indoor) Redshirted. (Outdoor) Redshirted.

High school: Earned eight varsity letters competing at Chippewa Valley High School ... Two-time first team all-conference performer in cross country with a personal best of 18:13 ... Three-time first team all-conference in track and field with personal best times of 62 seconds in the 400, 2:16 in the 800, 4:54 in the 1600 and 10:41 in the 3200 ... In cross country, earned a league championship and MVP honors in the 2012, all-conference four times from 2010-13, all-state in 2012, a four-time state qualifier and three-time all-country award recipient ... In track and field, named all-state in the 1600 and 3200 in 2014, four-time all-conference honoree as well as 2013 league MVP, two-time state qualifer and four-time all-country award recipient ... Teams won five conference championships between cross country and track and field ... Named Academic All-Conference and Academic All-County four times each ... Three-time Academic All-State (cross country in 2012 and 2013 and track and field in 2014).

Personal: Full name is Rachel Marcelle Walny ... Daughter of Nick and Denise Walny ... Born on Oct. 19, 1996 ... Has two brothers -- Kyle and Justin ... Plans to study exercise science.

PERSONAL BESTS
Cross Country
5K: 16:58.0, Louisville Cross Country Classic (9/29/18) *school record
6K: 20:25.0, Pre-Nationals Invitational (10/14/17) *school record
Indoor Track and Field
Mile: 5:08.43, Tom Wright Classic (1/20/17)
3000: 9:42.95, Doug Raymond Invite (2/9/19)
5000: 16:26.14, GVSU Holiday Open (12/7/18)
Outdoor Track and Field
1500: 4:42.85, Gina Relays (4/28/17)
3000: 9:59.27, UT Dual (4/7/17)
5000: 16:27.67, Raleigh Relays (3/30/18)
10000: 33:48.22, Mt. SAC Relays (4/19/18)