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Vikings Open Season at Flyer 5K Challenge

Vikings Open Season at Flyer 5K Challenge
Posted: Sep 02, 2010

Sept. 2, 2010

Contact: Greg Murphy

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MEET #1

Flyer 5K Classic
Date: Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010
Time: 11:15 a.m.
Site: Kettering, Ohio

THE STARTING LINE: Cleveland State opens the 2010 season when the Vikings head to southern Ohio to compete in the Flyer 5K Challenge in Kettering, Ohio. Dayton will serve as host of the event, which begins at 11:15 a.m.

THE HEAD COACH: Now in his sixth season at the helm of the cross country program, Joe Jaketic has continued to make steady progress in building the team. A 1972 graduate of Cleveland State, Jaketic guided the Vikings to a ninth place showing at the league championship in 2007 and an eighth place showing in 2006. It was the first time since the 1996-97 MCC Championships that CSU finished ahead of a league foe in back-to-back seasons. Jaketic, who was the equipment manager at CSU for 37 years before retiring in December of 2008, has consistently had his team near the top of the Horizon League in GPA and has won the Academic Progress Rate Award in each of the last three years.

LAST TIME OUT: Cleveland State concluded the 2009 season by placing 32nd at the Great Lakes Regional Championship. The Vikings, who scored 974 points, were paced by Allison Craine who finished 173rd in 24:27.

FOR OPENERS: When the Vikings head to the Flyer 5K Classic this weekend it will mark the first time in four seasons that CSU will not open the season at the Case Western Bill Sudeck Classic. The last time the Vikings opened the year at an event other than CWRU was 2005 when the squad's first event was the Mel Brodt Invitaitonal.

THE JUNIORS HAVE IT: The trio of juniors Allison Craine, Brittany Elmlinger and Kelly Zaleski are back for their third year and are expected to lead the Vikings. Last year, Craine was CSU's first or second finisher in seven of the eight races she competed in, while Elmlinger was among the top two in eight of her nine races. Zaleski finished among CSU's top three runners eight of the nine events.

ALL-OHIO: The Vikings will not have to worry about traveling long distances during the 2010 campaign as the first seven events of the season will be contested in the Buckeye State. The first time CSU will leave Ohio comes on Oct. 30 for the Horizon League Championship in Chicago, Ill. Two weeks later, CSU will travel to Oakland, Mich., for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship.

ONE SMART TEAM: The cross country team was recognized on the 2009 NCAA Division I USTFCCA Women's Cross Country All-Academic Team. The squad carried a 3.64 grade point average, the 10th highest in Division I. In addition, the squad earned a public recognition award from the NCAA for its multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) for the third consecutive year. The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester or quarter by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete.

UP NEXT: The Vikings will be back in action next Saturday (Sept. 11) when CSU competes at the Mel Brodt Invitational in Bowling Green, Ohio. The race will begin at 10:45 a.m.