Aug. 30, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

HUNTING VALLEY, Ohio - Cleveland State ran to a seventh place finish out of 10 teams as the Vikings opened the season at the 8th Annual Bill Sudeck Invitational hosted by Case Western Reserve on Saturday afternoon at Valleeview Farm.

CSU finished with 196 points.

The Vikings ran just six individuals at the race as several CSU athletes were not in action due to injuries.

"The team that we sent out today really stepped up and ran an excellent race," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "It was extremely hot out there, but everybody handled it well and said they felt pretty good afterwards. It's exciting to see how we performed today and then know that we will get back everyone who is injured soon.

"We do need to learn how to run in a pack and help one another some more. But that will come with time and more practice."

Freshman Brittany Elmlinger led CSU in her first collegiate race, finishing 22nd with a time of 20:52.

"I was pleasantly surprised with Brittany's performance today," Jaketic said. "She went out a little fast, but that probably had something to do with adrenaline and excitement."

Junior Colleen Conway was right behind Elmlinger in 32nd place (21:11), while Andria Bazilevich was 41st in 21:34. Freshman Kelly Zaleski placed 51st in 21:50.

"We had a lot of good support out there from parents and fans today and the team really appreciated that."

The Vikings will be back in action next Saturday (Sept. 6) when CSU competes at the Tommy Evans Invitational in Akron.

COMPLETE CSU RESULTS
22. Brittany Elmlinger - 20:52
32. Colleen Conway - 21:11
41. Andria Bazilevich - 21:34
51. Kelly Zaleski - 21:50
126. Amy Salzman - 25:26
131. Melisa Mazanec - 26:03

COMPLETE TEAM RESULTS
1. Case Western - 28
2. Oberlin - 69
3. Allegheny - 106 4. Walsh - 109
5. Baldwin-Wallace - 125
6. John Carroll - 181 7. Cleveland State - 196
8. Adrian - 205
9. Ursuline (Ohio) - 210
10. Notre Dame (Ohio) - 243