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Vikings To Compete at Horizon League Championship

Vikings To Compete at Horizon League Championship
Posted: Oct 26, 2009

Oct. 26, 2009

Contact: Greg Murphy

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MEET #8
Horizon League Championship
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Site: Milford, Mich.

THE STARTING LINE: Following a week off, Cleveland State returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 31, when the Vikings travel to Milford, Mich., to compete in the 2009 Horizon League Championship. The event will begin at 11:00 a.m. at Kensington Metroparks.

LAST TIME OUT: The Vikings finished 11th of 19 teams at the Falcon Invitational in Bowling Green. Running the first six-kilometer race of the season, Allison Craine led the Vikings with a 68th place finish in 24:08.

THE HEAD COACH: Now in his fifth 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 last winter, has consistently had his team near the top of the Horizon League in GPA and has won the Academic Progress Rate Award in 2008 and 2009.

AT LAST YEAR'S CHAMPIONSHIP: Brittany Elmlinger finished 26th overall, running a 19:39, as the Vikings placed 10th at the 2008 Horizon League Championship. Elmlinger, who was the third freshman to cross the finish line, just one second behind the second place freshman finisher, missed her personal best time by only 11 seconds.

BRIDGING THE GAP: One of the biggest goals for CSU this year has been to cut the amount of time between the teams first and fifth finishers. That time has improved just about every week, including a gap of just 40 seconds at the Falcon Invitaitonal. Allison Craine was CSU's top finisher in 24:08, while Jordan Hoile came in as the Vikings fifth finisher in 24:48 on the six-kilometer course. In fact, the time gap was just 22 seconds at the five-kilometer mark, the smallest gap ever in program history.

SUPER SOPH: Sophomore Brittany Elmlinger has shown no signs of a sophomore slump this season, having been CSU's first or second finisher in all seven events, including a 24th place showing at Cedarville (Sept. 19), running a 19:49. That performance came on the heels of Elmlinger finishing 37th at Bowling Green on Sept. 12 in 19:29, just one second off her personal best time.

BAZILEVICH STEPS UP: Sophomore Andria Bazilevich made her trip to Orlando, Fla., a memorable one at the Walt Disney Classic (Oct. 10) as she was CSU's second finisher for the first time in her career. She was 78th overall in 21:10.

UP NEXT: CSU will compete at the NCAA Regional Championships on Nov. 14, beginning at 11:00 a.m. in Bloomington, Ind.