Falcons Fall in Opener

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Chris Moody had a solid third place finish, but the University of Toledo cross country team filled the other top four slots and the Rockets upended the Falcons 19 to 40 at the Toledo Dual Friday night at Ottawa Park Golf Course.

 

Toledo's Elisha Kipchumba was the individual champ as he led the pack with a time of 15:13.

 

Moody, a sophomore, finished the 5K course in 15:33. That time is a new personal record for Moody in a 5K race.

 

“He raced well,” Bowling Green coach Cami Wells said. “They got him in the last mile, it will be good motivation for the future.”

 

Freshman Jason Salyer was the second Falcon runner to cross the finish line with a time of 15:42.

 

“He raced really well,” Wells said. “He lost touch in the second mile and made up for it in the third mile.

 

“He needs to work on staying with the middle.”

 

Jesse Smuda, a junior, finished in eighth place with a time of 16:09. Sophomore Peter Miles finished in 12^th place with a time of 16:19.

 

Junior classmates Johnstone Kirui and Abraham Busienei were the next Falcons to place. Kirui (16:41) finished 14^th  and Busienei (16:49) was 15^th.

 

Sophomore Ben Leininger was the final member of the Orange and Brown to place, crossing the line just after Busienei with a time of 16:49.

 

Jeff Ehler (16:57), John Bernard (16:59), and Erik Kuehner (19.04) also participated for the Falcons. 

 

Wells was pleased with the performance of her team in their first race of the season.

 

“We raced better than last year,” she said. “We still have quite a bit of work to do to stay close in the middle of the race.”

 

The Falcons will host the Mel Brodt Invitational on Saturday, September 12. The men's race is set to get underway at 2:45 p.m.

 

“I would like to invite everybody out to watch on Saturday,” Wells said.