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Cross Country to Run at Great Lakes Regional Championship

Cross Country to Run at Great Lakes Regional Championship
Posted: Nov 10, 2008

Nov. 10, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

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THE STARTING LINE: Following a week off, the Cleveland State cross country squad returns to action when the Vikings conclude their campaign by competing at the 2008 Great Lakes Regional Championship on Saturday (Nov. 15) beginning at 11:00 a.m. at Purdue. It will be the first time since 2005 that CSU will compete at the Great Lakes Regional after skipping the event during the last two seasons.

LAST TIME OUT: Cleveland State finished 10th at the Horizon League Championships on Nov. 1 in Green Bay. Freshman Brittany Elmlinger was CSU's top finisher, placing 26th with a time of 19:39. She was the third fastest freshman in the race, just one second behind the second freshman finisher. Junior Colleen Conway was 29th in 19:52 as the Vikings totaled 224 points, finishing just three points behind ninth place Detroit (221).

THE HEAD COACH: In his fourth season at the helm of the cross country program, Joe Jaketic has continued to make steady progress in building the team. Last season, Jaketic guided the squad to a ninth place finish at the Horizon League Championships which came on the heels of an eighth place finish in 2006. It marked the first time since the 1996-97 MCC Championships that CSU finished ahead of a league foe in back-to-back seasons.

AN EXTRA 1,000: Saturday's Great Lakes Regional will be the second time this season that the Vikings will run on a 6,000-meter course. Seven of CSU's nine races this season have been on 5,000-meter courses with the only 6,000-meter race thusfar coming at the Falcon Invitational on Oct. 18.

THEY'RE BACK: The Vikings will compete in the Great Lakes Regional Championship on Saturday, marking their first appearance in the event in three years. After finishing 32nd at the regional in 2005, CSU did not compete in the race in 2006 or 2007. In fact, senior Audrey Piotrowski and junior Julie Piotrowski are the only athletes on the roster that have competed in a regional championship race.

DO THEY NEED PASSPORTS?: After opening the season with seven consecutive events in Ohio, CSU finally left the state for the first time this season to compete in the Horizon League Championship on Nov. 1. Saturday's race in West Lafayette, Ind., will mark CSU's second consecutive race outside of Ohio and just the ninth time in the last six years that the Vikings will compete outside the state.

NEW KIDS ON THE COURSE: Injuries to several key upperclassmen have forced head coach Joe Jaketic to use freshman and the newcomers have responded well all season. Brittany Elmlinger has been CSU's first or second finisher in all eight events, while Andria Bazilevich and Kelly Zaleski have consistently been CSU's third and fourth scorers this season.

UP NEXT: Saturday's event at the Great Lakes Regional will be the final event of the 2008 season for the Vikings.