By Derek Stanley
September 21, 2002
CINCINNATI, OH - The Fall season rolled in about two days early and during the Queen City Invitational hosted by the University of Cincinnati on Friday, September 20th. The temperature was 85 degrees at 4:00pm when the women's race started. By the time the men finished with their race, approximately an hour and a half later, the temperature had dropped to 65 degrees. The weather, coupled with the course's footing and long gradual hills resulted in slow course times, however the Beaver's found a way to be successful.
In the women's race, the Beavers ran their five scoring positions within a minute of each other. Behind a couple of "gutsy" performances, the women took 6th overall finishing behind five Division I teams, but held on to defeat Dayton.
Captain Rachael Szydlowski (SO.) came in to old form as she took the first mile out hard and held on the entire race to finish first for the team, covering the 5,000 meter course in 21:53. Szydlowski placed 41st overall and was the first non-Division I runner to cross the finish line. Finishing second for the team was freshman Jennifer Creamer who ran a smart race just behind Szydlowski, finishing 43rd in a 22:05. Rounding out the scoring for the Beavers was freshman Lauren Borga, 51st, 22:23, sophomore MaryAnna Morgan, 52nd, 22:32, and sophomore Jennifer Niedermier, 54th, 22:48. Also running for Bluffton was Carrie Hudecek, 61st, 23:28, Rachel Noirot, 68th, 24:28, and Alicia Stanko, 74th, 27:01.
As the men ran through the rain, it became clear that it was a Division I dominated meet. Host Cincinnati ran away with the meet and Morehead St. and Wright St. battled for 2nd and 3rd. Bluffton finished 4th in front of conference rival Mt. St. Joseph and NAIA Wilberforce.
Captain Steve Borga (SR.) showed good poise during the tough fourth mile, running by himself, and finishing as the team's first runner. He covered the 8,000 meter course in 30:04, good for 27th place overall. Roy Kaplan (SO.) finished second for the team running a 30:40, earning 28th place. Finishing the scoring for the Beavers was Josh Tolley, 30th, 31:02, Dan Rosebrock, 31st, 31:07, and Andy Schiefer, 32nd, 31:23. Also running for the men was Patrick Cooley, 34th, 32:15, Andrew Smith, 36th, 32:54, and Stephen Rabe, 47th, 37:42.
The Beavers will be in action next weekend at the Francis Marion University Invitational in South Carolina on Saturday, September 28th. The races start a 8:45am on the FMU campus.