Oct. 25, 2007

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's and women's cross country teams will be in search of a few Mid-American Conferences titles this Saturday when they visit Mount Pleasant, Mich. for the 2007 MAC Championships, hosted by Central Michigan University at Riverwood Resort. A total of nine runners will compete in the races from both squads, as the Falcon men will be looking for their first team title since 1995, while the Falcon women will be looking for their first team title since 1998.

Those goals won't be easy to come by though as the Falcons will not only have to battle the best of the MAC, but they'll have to battle the elements as well. Early forecasts for the Mount Pleasant area are calling for temperatures to range from 54 to 33 degrees with showers expected on top of the cold conditions.

For most squads, those conditions might prove to be too much to overcome, but for the Falcon women last season, it proved to be a positive. BG finished second in the MAC Championships last October in Buffalo, N.Y. in very similar conditions after being picked to finish sixth in the preseason.

Despite some strong performances thus far in 2007, BG coach Cami Wells knows her women's squad has yet to have their best race of the season.

"We have a nice mix of youth and experience on the women's team this year," said Wells. "Together they have been working hard to overcome the loss of All-MAC runner Jamie Roflow, who is red-shirting. The team has been very consistent all fall and is looking to make a big breakthrough and run up to their full potential this weekend."

Leading the way all fall for the Falcons has been freshman Ashley Fischer who started the fall by winning her first collegiate race against the University of Toledo and hasn't slowed since. The Fremont, Ohio native has finished as the top Falcon runner in each race this season. She has teamed up with fellow freshman, Barbara Powers (Bowling Green, Ohio), to form a freshman duo that has finished 1-2 for the Falcons in three of the five full team events.

Sophomore Carly Bates (Palatine, Ill.) and junior Kara Butler (Okemos, Mich.) have also had strong seasons for the Falcons, as the No. 3 and No. 4 runners on the team. Bates comes into the MAC Championships fresh off a 17th-place finish at the Falcon Invitational where she ran her second-best personal time at 18:31.72, while Butler finished in the 31st position.

On the men's side, sophomore Eddie Kipchoge (Eldoret, Kenya) has dominated the headlines once again for the Falcon men, as he has continued his success from his freshman campaign. This fall, Kipchoge has picked up two individual titles and recorded his two-best collegiate times, capturing races wins against Toledo in dual competition and at the Falcon Invitational just a week and a half ago at Forrest Creason Golf Course where he ran a time of 24:41.64.

With a win in the MAC Championships, Kipchoge would become the first BG individual men's champion since Chris Koehler did it back in 1981.

Kipchoge's success has been the biggest bright spot for the men's squad that has been deterred by injury and illness all season.

"The men have been battling injury and illness this fall, but they're working through those setbacks in preparing themselves to give their best team effort at the MAC meet this weekend," said Wells.

This Saturday's MAC meet will be the last for Falcon seniors Curtis Farnsel (Metamora, Ohio), Kevin Kauglin (Oregon, Ohio) and Brad Wells (Portage, Ohio).

The races will kick-off at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning with the women's 5K. The men's 8K will follow at noon.

FALCONS AT THE MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

Men

MAC Team Championships

1995

1969

MAC Individual Champions

Chris Koehler, 1981

Kevin Ryan, 1978

Dave Wottle, 1971

Sid Sink, 1969

Sid Sink, 1968

Women

MAC Team Championships

1998

1996

1995

1983

1982

1981

1980

MAC Individual Champions

Suzanne Isco, 1995

Tracey Losi, 1994

JoAnn Lanciaux, 1982

JoAnn Lanciaux, 1981

Betsy Ryan, 1980

2007 FALL SEASON

Toledo Dual - W:1 / M: 2; Top Finishers: W: Ashley Fischer, 1st - 18:22 M: Eddie Kipchoge, 1st - 15:23

Mel Brodt Invitational - W:4 / M:11; Top Finishers: W: Ashley Fischer, 9th - 18:14 M: Chris Moody, 68th - 27:06.63

Greater Louisville Classic - W:7 / M:28; Top Finishers: W: Ashley Fischer, 24th - 18:03.93 M: Eddie Kipchoge, 11th - 24:16.37

All-Ohio Championships - W:8 / M:24; Top Finishers: W: Ashley Fischer, 28th -19:36.5 M: Eddie Kipchoge, 5th - 26:02.9

Falcon Invitational - W:3 / M:9; Top Finishers: W: Ashley Fischer, 14th - 18:25.62 M: Eddie Kipchoge, 1st - 24.41.64

Tiffin Open - Top Finishers: W: Courtney Krummert, 6th - 11:41 M: Michael Flores - 20th - 16:44