YSU's Rupe, Detroit's Coppola and Detroit Men Make History

Men’s Weekend Results
Queen City Invitational
Wright State: 7/15
Badger Season Opener
Green Bay: 6/7
Crusader Open
Valparaiso: 3/3
Tommy Evans Invitational
Akron 21 Youngstown State 35
Kent State 21 Youngstown State 38
Malone 20 Youngstown State 42
Youngstown State 21 Marshall 35
27th Annual Running Fit-Detroit Invitational
Detroit: 1/10
Oakland: 2/10

Women’s Weekend Results
Queen City Invitational
Wright State: 9/15
Badger Season Opener
Green Bay: 5/6
Crusader Open
Valparaiso: 2/3
Tommy Evans Invitational
Akron 28 Youngstown State 29
Kent State 22 Youngstown State 33
Malone 17 Youngstown State 41
Youngstown State 19 Marshall 38
27th Annual Running Fit-Detroit Invitational
Oakland 2/9
Detroit: 3/9
Cleveland State: 4/9

Eric Rupe is the First Male Penguin to Win the Tommy Evans Invitational

Akron, Ohio -- Youngstown State junior Eric Rupe led the Penguins at the 45th Tommy Evans Invitational this evening placing first. It was the first time for a male Penguin to finish at the head of the pack at the Tommy Evans Invitational. Monica Ciarniello led the YSU women placing seventh.

Rupe has led the YSU men cross country team in the first two meets of the season, and had a strong performance this Thursday finishing first with a time of 20:23 in the 6,400-meter run (four miles). Sophomore Austin McLean was the next Penguin to finish at 17th at a time of 20:55, Nick Gliha placing 22nd at 21:15, and right behind him was John Hutnyan in 23rd place at 21:27. Other finishers for the Penguins were Jon Richmond (29th 21:54) and Ethan Wilson (33rd 22:20).

Rupe was in the middle of the pack at the mid-way point before overtaking the group with a blazing 9:30 in his final two miles. He won the race by five seconds.

Along with Rupe, Ciarniello has led the YSU women's cross country team in the first two meets. Ciarniello placed seventh running a time of 18:50 in the 5K missing the top five by six seconds. Freshman McKinsie Klim had a solid run tailing Carniello with a 9th place finish at a time of 18:51, both Klim and Ciarniello were among the top runners YSU has had at the Tommy Evans Invitational in the past.

Junior Brittany Stockmaster was the following Penguin to finish at 15th with a time of 19:04 and Elizabeth Rogenski placing 19th at 19:23. While Katie Heney and Megan Monte finished back to back with Katey placing 27th at 19:57 and Monte finishing 28th at 20:02. Ashley Smith also ran with a time of 21:28.

The next meet that the Penguins will be running at is the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind., on Friday, Sept. 27.

Recap Link: http://www.ysusports.com/sports/xc/2013-14/releases/201309058lwkb0
Men & Women's Results: http://www.ysusports.com/sports/xc/2013-14/files/Tommy_Evans.pdf

Nelkie Wins Collegiate 4-Mile, Detroit Men Victorious At 27th Annual Running Fit-Detroit Titan Invitational

NORTHVILLE, Mich. (9/7/2013) -- Senior Martin Nelkie held off a teammate for his first career win as the Titan men made some history on Saturday as the University of Detroit Mercy hosted the 27th Annual Running Fit-Detroit Titan Invitational at Cass Benton Park in Northville.

The men's history came as a team as the Titans won the event for the first time as Detroit posted 37 points in the collegiate 4-mile, besting Oakland by 10 and the Wayne State Alumni squad by 11.

Three Titans were in the top 10 as Nelkie won the event in 20:44, just ahead of junior teammate Ryan Hofsess (20:49), while senior Sam Felton was sixth in 21:10. Hofsess actually had the lead early on, but Nelkie was able to overtake him midway through the race and the tandem was 1-2 coming down the final mile.

Nelkie's win also represented the second Titan to ever win the event following Chris McPhee in 1999 and 2001.

Sophomore Austin Wigent was part of the scoring crew finishing 14th in 21:43 and sophomore Derek Gielarowski claimed a spot in the top 20 earning 16th in 21:47.

Coppola Wins Her Second-Straight Race

NORTHVILLE, Mich. (9/7/2013) -- What a way to begin a season as senior Louisa Coppola won for the second week in a row and made some history in doing so as the University of Detroit Mercy cross county program hosted the 27th Annual Running Fit-Detroit Titan Invitational on Saturday morning at Cass Benton Park in Northville.

Coppola continued her strong start to her final collegiate season following her win at Oakland last week as she cruised to a 17-second victory with a time of 18:38 in the collegiate 5k, becoming just the second Titan to ever win the annual race and the first since Angie Lefere in 1997. Coppola's two wins is now just two short of Kim Hemstreet's school record of four set in 2002.

Coppola wasn't alone in the top 10 as freshman Devon Sutton was the second Titan to cross the finish line for the second-straight week as she was sixth in 19:17.

The Titans the had three runners in a row in the late 20's as senior Ciara Curley-Poppe was 27th in 20:13, while junior Zeinab Baydoun was 28th in 20:18 and senior Rachel Hofsess took 29th in 20:29.

Freshman Samantha Zakalowski claimed 34th with a time of 21:00 flat, while senior Torrie Eger clocked a 21:14 for 38th, and junior Sara Taylor placed 48th in 21:50.

As a team, Detroit was third tallying 72 points, trailing only Wayne State (35) and Oakland (39).

Detroit will be back in action in two weeks when the Titans make their annual trip to South Bend, Ind., for the running of the National Catholic Championships on Sept. 20.

Men's Recap Link: http://detroittitans.com/news/2013/9/7/MXC_0907131203.aspx 
Women's Recap Link: http://detroittitans.com/news/2013/9/7/WXC_0907134422.aspx
Men's & Women's Results: http://detroittitans.com/documents/2013/9/7/27th_Annual_Running_Fit_Detroit_Titan_Invite_Results-2013.pdf?id=1953

Phoenix Cross Country Squads Open 2013 Season

MADISON, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay cross country teams opened their 2013 seasons on Friday evening, competing at the Badger Opener at Zimmer Championship Course in Madison. The men’s team claimed fifth place while the women’s team finished in sixth place in the meet with strong fields on both sides.

For the men, senior Alexander Kimble (Green Bay, Wis.) and sophomore Dalton Woodworth (Sparta, Wis.) both crossed the finish line in 20:16 as the top-four Phoenix runners were within eight seconds of each other. Kimble just edged Woodworth for 23rd place and the duo was followed immediately by junior Andrew Sorenson (Onalaska, Wis.) and freshman Eric Bilitz (Fond du Lac, Wis.) in 25th (20:21) and 26th places (20:24), respectively. Another freshman – Austin Gokey (De Pere, Wis.) – rounded out the scoring for the Phoenix in 31st place (21:24).
The host Badgers had the top-four finishers in the meet and took first place with 25 points. Loyola (38 points), Marquette (62) and DePaul (119) were second through fourth in front of the Phoenix.

On the women’s side, sophomore Sarah Mauel (Green Bay, Wis.) paced the Phoenix in 30th place, crossing the finish line in 15:17. Freshman Breanna Suess (Luxemburg, Wis.) had an impressive Green Bay debut, taking second on the team and 35th overall (16:05). The Phoenix, competing without injured junior Nicole Will (Luxemburg, Wis.), had junior Sarah Frelich (Denmark, Wis.), sophomore Rachel Crites (Dousman, Wis.) and senior Kristi Petasek (New Franken, Wis.) round out the top-five runners.

Northwestern (45 points) won the team title on the women’s side with Wisconsin (57), Loyola (61), Marquette (66) and DePaul (154) also finishing in the top-five.
Green Bay will compete next weekend at the Falcon Invitational in Mequon, Wis., next Saturday, Sept. 14 at 12 p.m.

Recap Link: http://www.greenbayphoenix.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=110193&SPID=13701&DB_OEM_ID=22500&ATCLID=209254031
Men Results: http://www.greenbayphoenix.com//pdf9/2532870.pdf
Women Results: http://www.greenbayphoenix.com//pdf9/2532872.pdf

Cross Country Competes at Queen City Invitational

The Wright State cross country teams competed in the Queen City Invitational Friday evening in Mason, Ohio.  The men placed seventh while the women finished ninth.

Senior Dan Shafer finished ninth overall with a time of 15:15 while fellow senior Rachel Janson placed 25th for the WSU women.
Wright State returns to action at the Friendship Invitational in Cedarville on Saturday, September 21.

Recap Link: http://www.valpoathletics.com/media/cross%20country-men/2013-14/PDFs/2013%20Crusader%20Open%20Men.pdf
Men’s & Women’s Results: http://www.wsuraiders.com/fls/27000/boxscores/c-xc/2013-14/QueenCity.pdf

Women Take 2nd, Men 3rd at Crusader Open

While junior Jessica Richardson (Columbus, Ind./North) turned in another outstanding time at the 25th Annual Crusader Open Saturday, freshman Liz Bloy (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) garnered ample attention as she finished with a time a little less than 20 seconds after Richardson.

Conditions were perfect for Friday's run with 33 women and 27 men competing in the silver anniversary of the Crusader Open. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish came away with the team win in the women's race while the IUPUI Jaguars edged out the Fighting Irish on the men's side.

Richardson recorded the best time for the Crusaders in the 5K race, as she crossed the line at 18:39.7. Bloy stopped the clock at 18:58.2 in her first collegiate meet. However, it wasn't enough as Notre Dame finished first through sixth as they captured the title at this year's open.

On the men's side, the IUPUI Jaguars narrowly defeated the Fighting Irish as they finished just one team score ahead of Notre Dame despite an average time behind its intrastate foes.

Freshman Dan Walters (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) completed the 6K in 20:29.8, good for 13th place overall. Just behind Walters was junior David Rutkowski (Cedarburg, Wis./Living Word Lutheran), who hit the tape at 20:50.9.

Valpo hits the trail again Saturday, September 21st in the Iona Meet of Champions. The race from the New York borough of the Bronx begins at 9:15 am Central Time.

Recap Link: http://www.valpoathletics.com/mcc/news/2013-14/12890/women-take-2nd-men-3rd-at-crusader-open/
Men’s Results: http://www.valpoathletics.com/media/cross%20country-men/2013-14/PDFs/2013%20Crusader%20Open%20Men.pdf
Women’s Results: http://www.valpoathletics.com/media/cross%20country-women/2013-14/PDF/Crusader%20Open%20Women.pdf