Sept. 12, 2009

Contact: Greg Murphy

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Cleveland State's Brittany Elmlinger ran a 19:29, just one second off her personal best, as the Vikings placed 10th of 13 teams at the Mel Brodt Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

Elmlinger placed 37th overall and was CSU's top finisher for the second time in as many events this season.

"Brittany looked very strong today and ran a great race," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "She knocked more than one minute off her time from the same event last year which is a testament to the hard work she has put in.

"Overall, I was happy with the way we ran and competed today. I like coming here because its a fast course and gives the girls a lot of confidence. We ran hard and showed a lot of improvement from last week and I expect that we will continue to improve as the season progresses.

"We want to continue to run in packs and also cut down the time gap between our first and fifth runners."

Sophomore Allison Craine was CSU's second finisher, placing 60th in 19:59. Craine is still working her way back after missing the entire 2008 season with a stress fracture in her leg.

"Allison is getting better and better each week," Jaketic said. "We are still getting her into race shape, but I really like how she is coming along."

Sophomore Kelly Zaleski was 71st in 20:16, while sophomore Andria Bazilevich was 95th in 20:50.

Junior Jordan Hoile, who was 106th in 21:31, and freshman Rachel Niemi, who placed 113th in 21:50, rounded out CSU's contingent. Hoile knocked two minutes off her time from last week's Bill Sudeck Classic.

The Vikings will be back in action next Saturday, Sept. 19, when CSU competes at the Friendship Invitational in Cedarville, Ohio. The race is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.