Men's Cross Country Preparing For 2010 Season
Fri, Aug, 27 | Men's Cross Country
The Bowling Green State University men's cross country team enters the 2010 season with high hopes and a strong desire to improve on last season's results.
Head coach Cami Paulson believes that this year's team has the necessary tools to get there. "We have all been looking forward to this fall for a long time," Paulson said. "The team started to make some significant progress in mindset last year and understands now what it will take to be taken seriously and compete successfully in this conference and region."
Paulson believes that the road to success begins with a strong showing in the Toledo Dual, which the Falcons host next Friday. "We want to improve our ranking at every meet this season from last year and put ourselves in a position to beat teams at the conference meet."
The team is busy preparing for that Toledo Dual meet and is excited to face the Rockets. Although Paulson says that the team has a long way to go with a lot of hard work ahead, she also believes that the team looks the best it has since she began coaching the men's team in 2002. As for the Falcons' opponents, Paulson says, "We respect the competition we will face and know that Toledo is a team that made significant improvement last year and looks to have a very strong incoming class. We look forward to the challenge."
This year's roster has a diverse amount of experience to add to the team. There are four returning seniors, but the team also features eight newcomers, including five freshman, two new sophomores and a graduate student.
Paulson likes what this type of roster has to offer. "It is a great mix to have, I have the experience of a veteran group of seniors and the enthusiasm and energy of a great group of freshman. Practices have been vastly improved already and the team atmosphere is positive and productive."
This year's senior class includes Abraham Busienei, Jeff Ehler and Jesse Smuda, but it is highlighted by Chris Moody. Moody has been the Falcons' top finisher in every meet over the last two seasons. Last year, he placed third at the Toledo Dual and eighth at the Mel Brodt Invitational. He also placed 24th at the All-Ohio Championships, a field that included 38 different teams.
Coach Paulson expects big things from Moody in his final season wearing a Falcon uniform. "Chris put in a tremendous summer of training. He is the fittest he has ever been, and he is ready to give everything he has to make this senior season successful and reach the team and individual goals that have been set. Chris is one of our team captains and I expect him to be a positive influence every day.
Three other athletes return to the Orange and Brown in 2010. Ben Leininger and Peter Miles represent the junior class, while Jason Salyer returns as a sophomore.
In Salyer's opening campaign with the Falcons, he placed second among all BGSU runners in each of the team's seven races. He placed sixth, just nine seconds behind Chris Moody, at the Toledo Dual in 2009. He followed that with a 24th place finish at the Mel Brodt Invite, posting a season-best 8K time of 25:46.5. He then finished in 30th place at the All-Ohio Championships.
According to Paulson, Salyer will be a key cog in this and future Falcon teams. "Jason is just the ultimate team player. He is driven to meet his individual goals, but he has the mindset of a team leader and is always looking for ways to make the team stronger. Jason played a huge role in bringing this team together and attracting the incoming freshman this season."
Paulson continued, "Athletically, Jason is in great shape. He put in a lot of miles this summer and had a full understanding of what he needed to achieve this summer to prepare himself successfully for the season."
As noted above, there are eight newcomers to the Orange and Brown this year. The freshman include Greg Black, Brian Ferber, Perry Fraylick, Joe van Bolderen and Luke Zerkle. Rob Kelvey comes in as a graduate student, while Josh Franek and Ian Zimmerman both join the Falcons as sophomores.
You can look for the newcomers to contribute right away. Paulson said, "Transfer student Josh Franek has looked good in practice, as has grad student Rob Kelvey. I also expect that the freshmen men will make an impact, led by Greg Black, who has looked very strong in practices."
Everybody on the team will have a relatively familiar schedule to look forward to in 2010. Of the seven tournaments scheduled for this season, only one is different from last year's schedule. Last year's trip to the Iona Meet of Champions has been replaced with a trip to East Lansing, Mich. for the Spartan Invitational.
"The course at East Lansing will be nothing like the Iona course," Paulson said. "It is much more forgiving and will allow us the opportunity to race against a great field of competition, including some MAC competition."
After the Toledo Dual, hosted by Bowling Green, on September 3rd, the Falcons will regroup before they host the Mel Brodt Invitational on Sept. 11. After that comes the trip to East Lansing, on Sept. 17.
A two week break follows the Spartan Invitational, and then the Falcons return to action at the All-Ohio Championships on October 1st.
The cross country teams host another tournament on October 16, this time the Falcon Invitational. After the last home meet of the season, the Falcons will take two weeks to prepare for the MAC Championships, to be held in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Oct. 30.
Make sure to return to BGSUFalcons.com often for the latest on the 2010 Falcon men's cross country team. You can access meet information, previews and recaps, as well as game notes and other new content. Once again, the season begins on Friday, September 3rd!
Head coach Cami Paulson believes that this year's team has the necessary tools to get there. "We have all been looking forward to this fall for a long time," Paulson said. "The team started to make some significant progress in mindset last year and understands now what it will take to be taken seriously and compete successfully in this conference and region."
Paulson believes that the road to success begins with a strong showing in the Toledo Dual, which the Falcons host next Friday. "We want to improve our ranking at every meet this season from last year and put ourselves in a position to beat teams at the conference meet."
The team is busy preparing for that Toledo Dual meet and is excited to face the Rockets. Although Paulson says that the team has a long way to go with a lot of hard work ahead, she also believes that the team looks the best it has since she began coaching the men's team in 2002. As for the Falcons' opponents, Paulson says, "We respect the competition we will face and know that Toledo is a team that made significant improvement last year and looks to have a very strong incoming class. We look forward to the challenge."
This year's roster has a diverse amount of experience to add to the team. There are four returning seniors, but the team also features eight newcomers, including five freshman, two new sophomores and a graduate student.
Paulson likes what this type of roster has to offer. "It is a great mix to have, I have the experience of a veteran group of seniors and the enthusiasm and energy of a great group of freshman. Practices have been vastly improved already and the team atmosphere is positive and productive."
This year's senior class includes Abraham Busienei, Jeff Ehler and Jesse Smuda, but it is highlighted by Chris Moody. Moody has been the Falcons' top finisher in every meet over the last two seasons. Last year, he placed third at the Toledo Dual and eighth at the Mel Brodt Invitational. He also placed 24th at the All-Ohio Championships, a field that included 38 different teams.
Coach Paulson expects big things from Moody in his final season wearing a Falcon uniform. "Chris put in a tremendous summer of training. He is the fittest he has ever been, and he is ready to give everything he has to make this senior season successful and reach the team and individual goals that have been set. Chris is one of our team captains and I expect him to be a positive influence every day.
Three other athletes return to the Orange and Brown in 2010. Ben Leininger and Peter Miles represent the junior class, while Jason Salyer returns as a sophomore.
In Salyer's opening campaign with the Falcons, he placed second among all BGSU runners in each of the team's seven races. He placed sixth, just nine seconds behind Chris Moody, at the Toledo Dual in 2009. He followed that with a 24th place finish at the Mel Brodt Invite, posting a season-best 8K time of 25:46.5. He then finished in 30th place at the All-Ohio Championships.
According to Paulson, Salyer will be a key cog in this and future Falcon teams. "Jason is just the ultimate team player. He is driven to meet his individual goals, but he has the mindset of a team leader and is always looking for ways to make the team stronger. Jason played a huge role in bringing this team together and attracting the incoming freshman this season."
Paulson continued, "Athletically, Jason is in great shape. He put in a lot of miles this summer and had a full understanding of what he needed to achieve this summer to prepare himself successfully for the season."
As noted above, there are eight newcomers to the Orange and Brown this year. The freshman include Greg Black, Brian Ferber, Perry Fraylick, Joe van Bolderen and Luke Zerkle. Rob Kelvey comes in as a graduate student, while Josh Franek and Ian Zimmerman both join the Falcons as sophomores.
You can look for the newcomers to contribute right away. Paulson said, "Transfer student Josh Franek has looked good in practice, as has grad student Rob Kelvey. I also expect that the freshmen men will make an impact, led by Greg Black, who has looked very strong in practices."
Everybody on the team will have a relatively familiar schedule to look forward to in 2010. Of the seven tournaments scheduled for this season, only one is different from last year's schedule. Last year's trip to the Iona Meet of Champions has been replaced with a trip to East Lansing, Mich. for the Spartan Invitational.
"The course at East Lansing will be nothing like the Iona course," Paulson said. "It is much more forgiving and will allow us the opportunity to race against a great field of competition, including some MAC competition."
After the Toledo Dual, hosted by Bowling Green, on September 3rd, the Falcons will regroup before they host the Mel Brodt Invitational on Sept. 11. After that comes the trip to East Lansing, on Sept. 17.
A two week break follows the Spartan Invitational, and then the Falcons return to action at the All-Ohio Championships on October 1st.
The cross country teams host another tournament on October 16, this time the Falcon Invitational. After the last home meet of the season, the Falcons will take two weeks to prepare for the MAC Championships, to be held in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Oct. 30.
Make sure to return to BGSUFalcons.com often for the latest on the 2010 Falcon men's cross country team. You can access meet information, previews and recaps, as well as game notes and other new content. Once again, the season begins on Friday, September 3rd!