BGSU Men's Cross Country Set for the All-Ohio Championships

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – After a week off to catch their breath the Bowling Green State University men's cross country team will be back in action Friday at the All-Ohio Championships hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University. 

The men's championship race is set to get underway at 2:45 p.m. 

“I expect that they are more rested then last time they went into competition and mentally have had a chance to take a break and regroup and are now ready to take on a quality field and very difficult course this Friday,” head cross country coach Cami Wells said. 

The men's race is an 8K featuring some moderate hills and includes 41 teams from Divisions I, II, III and the NAIA. There will be six other Division I schools participating including fellow MAC members Akron and Ohio. Ohio State, which is ranked fourth in the Great Lakes region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, is also in the race. 

Six of the Division III schools participating are ranked in the top ten of the Great Lakes region. Malone University is the top-ranked team in the NAIA. 

Participating in the championship race for the for the Falcons will be juniors Chris Moody, Jesse Smuda, Jeff Ehler, Abraham Busienei and Johnstone Kirui. Pete Miles, a sophomore, and Jason Salyer, a freshman, will also be competing. 

Junior John Bernard and sophomore Ben Leininger will be running in the open race at 4:15. 

Wells is looking for the team to continue improving in advance of the Mid-American Conference Championships. The meet on Friday is another step toward that goal. 

“The team is working hard and has shown great improvement from last year and previous years as far as work ethic and competitiveness,” Wells said. “I expect that they will still be tired and adjusting to training the first month and now that we are getting into the more important meets of the season, I expect that they will continue to improve their efforts from meet to meet leading to the MAC.”