Sept. 19, 2009
Contact: Greg Murphy
CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Allison Craine and Brittany Elmlinger both ran sub 20-minute times and finished in the top-25 as Cleveland State placed seventh of 16 teams at the Friendship Invitational at the Elvin R. King Cross Country Course on Saturday morning.
Craine was the Vikings top finisher, placing 20th in 19:36, while Elmlinger finished 24th in 19:49.
Both runners received individual awards for placing in the top-25.
CSU finished with 189 points, trailing sixth place Wright State who had 156.
Ashland won the event with 39 points, while Cedarville was the runner-up with 64 points.
"Today was a great day for running and the course was in wonderful shape," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "I was very pleased with the way we ran today and I can definitely see the progress that we are making. We are closing the gaps between our first and fifth runners and that was one of our biggest goals coming into the season.
"Allison ran a great race for us today," Jaketic continued. "She is really coming along nicely after missing last season. She is working hard and the results are showing."
Kelly Zaleski finished 37th in 20:11, while Andria Bazilevich was 58th in 20:41 and Rachel Niemi was 85th with a personal-best time of 21:15. Jordan Hoile rounded out CSU's contingent, placing 110th in 22:16, knocking more than a minute off her time from the same event last season.
The Vikings will return to action next Saturday (Sept. 26) when CSU competes at the Ohio University Invitational. The race is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.
CSU RESULTS
20. Allison Craine, 19:36
24. Brittany Elmlinger, 19:49
37. Kelly Zaleski, 20:11
58. Andria Bazilevich, 20:41
85. Rachel Niemi, 21:15
110. Jordan Hoile, 22:16
