2010 Season Almost Here For Women's Cross Country
Mon, Aug, 30 | Women's Cross Country
With just days to go before the 2010 season begins, the Bowling Green State University women's cross country team is hastily preparing for a campaign in which they hope to build upon the successes and improve upon the disappointments of 2009.
After a loss to Toledo in the season opening dual meet with the Rockets, the Falcons had an up-and-down 2009. Bowling Green won the Falcon Invite and placed second in the Mel Brodt Invitational, and the Falcons also placed ninth in the 42-team All-Ohio field. At the Iona Meet of Champions, the Orange and Brown secured an eighth place finish out of 21 teams.
Despite the victory and the other top-ten finishes, however, the end of the 2009 season was a bitter pill to swallow, as the Falcons placed seventh at the MAC Championships.
BGSU women's cross country head coach Cami Paulson reflected this sentiment: "We were very disappointed with the seventh place finish at the MAC meet last year, and we want to put ourselves in a position to be a contender for the top spots at the MAC meet (in 2010). We know there are many talented, driven teams out there to contend with, but we also know we have a very talented, driven team as well. We are ready for the challenge."
Going into this year's schedule, Paulson believes that the team looks good, and she views the senior class as a key component to the team, as she says that they want to finish off their careers with the best season possible.
This year's senior class has six members -- Heather Conger, Autumn Dettmann, Sally Kandie, Megan Kelsey, Courtney Krummert and Barbara Powers. A seventh senior, Ashley Fischer, will redshirt for medical reasons. However, Fischer should return for the track and field season in the spring and next fall's cross country schedule.
About the seniors, Paulson said, "Heather Conger is in great shape and looking to have her best season as she has gained more confidence in her abilities over the past year. I expect Heather along with the other seniors to really lead the way this season in terms of leadership on and off the course."
Conger's 2009 highlight was a third-place finish at the Falcon Invitational, as she helped lead the Falcons to victory in that meet. The time of 22:15.1 was nearly one minute better than her next-best performance last year's four 6K races. Conger was one of five different runners to finish as BGSU's top finisher in an individual meet last season.
Among the returning seniors, there were other top-20 finishes last year. Autumn Dettmann finished tenth at the Toledo Dual, while Barbara Powers placed 15th at the Falcon Invite. Also at the Falcon Invite, Sally Kandie recorded a 12th place finish.
While this year's senior class offers a large amount of experience, the rest of the roster resides on the opposite end of the experience spectrum. In fact, of the 11 non-seniors on the roster, ten are either freshmen or sophomores -- with one year or less of experience.
Sophomore Abby Koch is one of four athletes who return for a second season with the Falcons. In her freshman campaign, Koch was BGSU's top finisher twice and finished in the top 30 in four of her seven events. Her best meet of 2009 was the Mel Brodt Invite, where she helped BGSU to second place by completing the 5K in 18:45.5, placing eighth.
"Abby is a very gifted and driven athlete, and she has prepared herself well to be a leader on the team this season," Paulson said. "She has led the majority of the practices, is gaining confidence in her abilities and is ready to get out there and race."
Alixe Korsnack, Megan Niehaus and Taylor Stichter will join Koch in the sophomore class. Saisha Gaillard will be a Falcon junior this year. Both Korsnack and Stichter ran in last year's Toledo Dual and All-Ohio meets, while Stichter also ran in the Falcon Invite. Gaillard, along with Tara Weiss, ran in several meets during BGSU's 2008 season.
This year's group of first year runners goes six deep. Katie Borgelt will race for the first time after a redshirt 2009, while Ashley Burns, Caitlin Flack and Kristin Miller will join the team as true freshmen.
Burns and Flack were each four-year letterwinners in cross country during high school. Burns' teams won conference titles in each of her four seasons.
While Paulson believes that the returning athletes will be this year's top performers, she has expectations for the freshmen, too. "Our incoming freshmen are using this fall to get fit and ready for the future. I expect they will make good progress this fall that will lead them to bigger and better things in the future," Paulson said.
As for the experience gap between the returners and the newcomers, Paulson quipped, "The team is working together well. It is always a plus to have senior leadership, and we have a great group of esniors and a great group of underclassmen. I know they will all contribute to the team's success this season."
This year's schedule shapes up much like last year's, with one big exception. Rather than traveling out of the region, this year's Falcons will stay close to home after the Mel Brodt Invitational as they will travel to East Lansing, Mich. for the Spartan Invitational. Paulson states that the course at East Lansing is more forgiving than the course at last year's Iona meet, and the Spartan Invite will give the team another chance to take on MAC competition.
The schedule begins with the Toledo Dual at home on Friday, Sept. 3rd. The Mel Brodt and Spartan Invitationals follow over the next two weeks (Sept. 11 and Sept. 17). In October, the Falcons will travel to the All-Ohio Championships in Cedarville, return home for the Falcon Invitational, then travel to the MAC Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich.
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!
After a loss to Toledo in the season opening dual meet with the Rockets, the Falcons had an up-and-down 2009. Bowling Green won the Falcon Invite and placed second in the Mel Brodt Invitational, and the Falcons also placed ninth in the 42-team All-Ohio field. At the Iona Meet of Champions, the Orange and Brown secured an eighth place finish out of 21 teams.
Despite the victory and the other top-ten finishes, however, the end of the 2009 season was a bitter pill to swallow, as the Falcons placed seventh at the MAC Championships.
BGSU women's cross country head coach Cami Paulson reflected this sentiment: "We were very disappointed with the seventh place finish at the MAC meet last year, and we want to put ourselves in a position to be a contender for the top spots at the MAC meet (in 2010). We know there are many talented, driven teams out there to contend with, but we also know we have a very talented, driven team as well. We are ready for the challenge."
Going into this year's schedule, Paulson believes that the team looks good, and she views the senior class as a key component to the team, as she says that they want to finish off their careers with the best season possible.
This year's senior class has six members -- Heather Conger, Autumn Dettmann, Sally Kandie, Megan Kelsey, Courtney Krummert and Barbara Powers. A seventh senior, Ashley Fischer, will redshirt for medical reasons. However, Fischer should return for the track and field season in the spring and next fall's cross country schedule.
About the seniors, Paulson said, "Heather Conger is in great shape and looking to have her best season as she has gained more confidence in her abilities over the past year. I expect Heather along with the other seniors to really lead the way this season in terms of leadership on and off the course."
Conger's 2009 highlight was a third-place finish at the Falcon Invitational, as she helped lead the Falcons to victory in that meet. The time of 22:15.1 was nearly one minute better than her next-best performance last year's four 6K races. Conger was one of five different runners to finish as BGSU's top finisher in an individual meet last season.
Among the returning seniors, there were other top-20 finishes last year. Autumn Dettmann finished tenth at the Toledo Dual, while Barbara Powers placed 15th at the Falcon Invite. Also at the Falcon Invite, Sally Kandie recorded a 12th place finish.
While this year's senior class offers a large amount of experience, the rest of the roster resides on the opposite end of the experience spectrum. In fact, of the 11 non-seniors on the roster, ten are either freshmen or sophomores -- with one year or less of experience.
Sophomore Abby Koch is one of four athletes who return for a second season with the Falcons. In her freshman campaign, Koch was BGSU's top finisher twice and finished in the top 30 in four of her seven events. Her best meet of 2009 was the Mel Brodt Invite, where she helped BGSU to second place by completing the 5K in 18:45.5, placing eighth.
"Abby is a very gifted and driven athlete, and she has prepared herself well to be a leader on the team this season," Paulson said. "She has led the majority of the practices, is gaining confidence in her abilities and is ready to get out there and race."
Alixe Korsnack, Megan Niehaus and Taylor Stichter will join Koch in the sophomore class. Saisha Gaillard will be a Falcon junior this year. Both Korsnack and Stichter ran in last year's Toledo Dual and All-Ohio meets, while Stichter also ran in the Falcon Invite. Gaillard, along with Tara Weiss, ran in several meets during BGSU's 2008 season.
This year's group of first year runners goes six deep. Katie Borgelt will race for the first time after a redshirt 2009, while Ashley Burns, Caitlin Flack and Kristin Miller will join the team as true freshmen.
Burns and Flack were each four-year letterwinners in cross country during high school. Burns' teams won conference titles in each of her four seasons.
While Paulson believes that the returning athletes will be this year's top performers, she has expectations for the freshmen, too. "Our incoming freshmen are using this fall to get fit and ready for the future. I expect they will make good progress this fall that will lead them to bigger and better things in the future," Paulson said.
As for the experience gap between the returners and the newcomers, Paulson quipped, "The team is working together well. It is always a plus to have senior leadership, and we have a great group of esniors and a great group of underclassmen. I know they will all contribute to the team's success this season."
This year's schedule shapes up much like last year's, with one big exception. Rather than traveling out of the region, this year's Falcons will stay close to home after the Mel Brodt Invitational as they will travel to East Lansing, Mich. for the Spartan Invitational. Paulson states that the course at East Lansing is more forgiving than the course at last year's Iona meet, and the Spartan Invite will give the team another chance to take on MAC competition.
The schedule begins with the Toledo Dual at home on Friday, Sept. 3rd. The Mel Brodt and Spartan Invitationals follow over the next two weeks (Sept. 11 and Sept. 17). In October, the Falcons will travel to the All-Ohio Championships in Cedarville, return home for the Falcon Invitational, then travel to the MAC Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich.
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!