Sept. 6, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

AKRON, Ohio - Colleen Conway placed 18th and Brittany Elmlinger was close behind in 24th place as a short-handed Cleveland State squad placed fourth at the Tommy Evans Invitational on Saturday afternoon at Firestone Metropark.

The Vikings, who were running with just five runners, finished with 105 points to finish behind Akron (17), Buffalo (46) and Youngstown State (78).

"We had a much better day to run today than last week and I was proud of how the team responded," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "They were a lot more relaxed this week and really competed well. It's hard to run so short-handed, but everyone ran well and I am excited to see how much we have improved. It will be great to have our whole team back and be able to run in packs during the race."

Conway ran a 20:12 to lead the Viking contingent, while Elmlinger had her second straight good outing as she ran a 20:39.

"Colleen ran a great race today," Jaketic said. "I could tell at the first mile that she was very relaxed and calm. I am also impressed with how Brittany has run the first two races this year. She has a great stride and is right about where she needs to be for us."

Kelly Zaleski placed 34th in 21:24, while Andria Bazilevich was close behind in 41st (21:53).

The Vikings will return to action next Saturday (Sept. 13) when CSU competes at the Mel Brodt Invitational at Bowling Green.

CSU RESULTS
18. Colleen Conway, 20:12
24. Brittany Elmlinger, 20:39
34. Kelly Zaleski, 21:24
41. Andria Bazilevich, 21:53
57. Melisa Mazanec, 24:06