Oct. 2, 2009

Contact: Greg Murphy

DELAWARE, Ohio - A short-handed Cleveland State cross country squad traveled to compete in the All-Ohio Championships on Friday afternoon at the Methodist Theological School and Delaware Golf Course.

The Vikings finished 30th of 42 teams with 816 points.

CSU competed with just five runners, meaning all five times counted. Sophomore Allison Craine was held out of the race due to a leg injury.

"Allison really wanted to be out there today, but because the course was a little wet and sloppy, I decided to hold her out," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "She wasn't happy about it, but I like that because it shows me that she wants to be out there competing. But I'd rather have her healthy as we hit the stretch run and head to the league championship.

"Overall, I thought we ran very well as a team and competed hard. This is always a tough course and the rain made it that much more difficult."

Sophomore Brittany Elmlinger was 108th overall, finishing in 21:07, while sophomore Kelly Zaleski was 135th in 21:37.

"Brittany and Kelly did a great job of staying together for the first two miles," Jaketic said. "They really worked together and fed off each other."

Sophomore Andria Bazilevich was 165th in 21:57, while Jordan Hoile (218th in 23:08) and freshman Rachel Niemi (235th in 23:38) rounded out CSU's finishers.

The Vikings will be back in action on Saturday (Oct. 10) when CSU travels to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the Walt Disney World Classic.

CSU RESULTS
108. Brittany Elmlinger, 21:07.4
135. Kelly Zaleski, 21:37.0
165. Andria Bazilevich, 21:57.6
218. Jordan Hoile, 23:08.2
235. Rachel Niemi, 23:38.6