Oakland Men Finish Second, Detroit's Coppola Breaks Record

Results from Friday
34th Annual National Catholic Championship
Detroit Men:  5/10
Detroit Women: 7/11

Results from Saturday
39th Annual Western International Invitational
Oakland Men: 2/18
Oakland Women: 4/18

Friendship Invitational
Wright State Men: 4/11
Cleveland State Women: 3/11
Wright State Women: 4/11

Iona Meet of Champions
Valparaiso Women: 12/20
Valparaiso Men: 20/20

Coppola Shines at National Catholic Championship
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (9/20/2013) – Detroit senior Louisa Coppola set a career and Titan record and five runners were under 20 as the University of Detroit Mercy women's cross country team competed at the 34th Annual National Catholic Championship on Friday, held at Notre Dame's Cross Country Course.

The Titans totaled 237 points in the 5k race for eighth among Division I schools at the meet as three harriers were in the top 53.

Coppola clocked a Detroit record at the event with a career-best 17:58 for 14th. The women's race started in 1984 and UDM has competed in every year as Coppola broke Kim Hemstreet's time of 18:00 in 2002 for the best time ever at the National Catholic Championship. She also became the first Titan in the top 15 since Andrea Karl was 10th in 2005.

Senior Ciara Curley-Poppe claimed 48th in 19:13, while freshman Devon Sutton was 53rd in 19:19. Another freshman Samantha Zakalowski beat the 20-minute mark taking 68th in 19:48 and junior Zeinab Baydoun crossed the finish line in 19:56 for 75th.

Detroit men had three runners in the top 25 and six in the top 50, good for a fifth-place finish. The Titans posted 129 points in the 8k race, just 10 behind Marquette and 15 in back of Saint Louis.

Senior Martin Nelkie led Detroit for the third-straight week as he was 14th in 25:44, his best run ever in four career races at UND. His time was also the best by a Titan at the National Catholic Championship since Ken Dubois' 25:09 in 1987.

Junior Ryan Hofsess tallied a personal record with a time of 25:56 for 17th place, just a hair behind a runner for 16th and a few seconds off of a top-15 finish.

The Titans will be back in action in two weeks when Detroit runs in the 12th Annual Greater Louisville Classic on Oct. 5, held at EP "Tom" Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. For more information on that event, click here.

Men’s Recap
Women’s Recap
Men’s Results
Women’s Results

Oakland Men Finish Second in Western Invitational
LONDON, ONTARIO, Canada - Michael Cox led the pack for the Oakland men's cross country team, finishing eighth overall in a field of 156 with a time of 25:45 (8K) in the Western International Invitational on Saturday morning. Sammy Mondry paced the women's side as she finished 20th overall out of 163 runners in the race with a time of 18:58 (5K). The men's team finished in second place overall with 106 points while the women placed fourth earning 143 points.

"Today was a very exciting day for these two young teams," commented head coach Paul Rice. "This was the first race this season that we really got after it. They have been very sharp in practice lately and it showed today. The team attitude is great right now. We are still learning and I wouldn't say anyone had a perfect race today. However, we did come out of this with some great things to build from as we prepare now for Notre Dame."

For the men, Andrew and Jacob Bowman both performed very well as they finished in 12th and 15th place with times of 25:51 and 25:55 respectively. For the women, Miranda Haas finished in 24th with a time of 19:06 while teammate Mayce Varacalli finished 30th in 19:15.

OU will have the week to prepare for their next race when they travel to Notre Dame, Ind. for the Notre Dame Invite.

Recap
Box score

Wright State, Cleveland State Particpate in Friendship Invitational
CEDARVILLE, Ohio – Running in their first 6K of the season, the Cleveland State cross country team had a strong performance at the Friendship Invitational Saturday, placing third overall as a team. The Vikings – one of 11 teams competing Saturday – finished behind only Dayton and Tiffin.

"Everyone ran another great race today, at the beginning of the season we talked about improvement and consistency, and they are definitely doing both as you can see from the results week-to-week," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "I am really pleased with everyone's time, going into the race they were concerned with the 6K length and how they would respond, but they all did a great job and ran a fantastic race. This was our first 6K of the season and we will definitely get better, and hopefully we will have better weather to work with next time out."

The Vikings were led by the trio of Tori Holt, Erin Pavick and Ashlyn Woods, who all recorded top-25 finishes. Tori Holt was CSU's top finisher, placing 12th overall with a personal-best 6K time of 23:27. Running in their first collegiate 6K, Pavick placed 17th overall (23:54), and Woods placed 24th (24:27).

Cleveland State will now take a week off from competition, getting back to action on Friday, October 4 at the All-Ohio Championship. The race is set for a 2:45 p.m. start, and will once again take place at Cedarville University.

The Wright State men’s and women’s cross country teams each placed fourth Saturday in the Friendship Invitational at the Elvin R. King Cross Country Course in Cedarville, Ohio.

The women were paced by senior Rachel Janson in the 6K event as she finished 20th with a time of 24:04.  The men were led by senior Dan Shafer as he placed ninth in the 8K race with a time of 26:16.

The Raiders are back in action October 4 at the All-Ohio Championships, again in Cedarville.

Cleveland State Recap
Wright State Recap
Results

Richardson Leads Valpo at Iona Meet of Champions
Valparaiso competed at the Iona Meet of Champions on Saturday, Sept. 21. The Crusader women placed 12th while the men took 20th.

Jessica Richardson finished in 18th place with a 6K time of 23:30 to lead the Crusaders. Elizabeth Bloy finished the race in 24:07, good for 45th place.

Katie Avery of Iona won the meet in a time of 21:31, nearly one full minute ahead of second place (22:26).

For the men, David Rutkowski paced the Crusaders with a 116th place finish. Rutkowski completed the 8K race in 28:18. Dan Walters was close behind, finishing in 119th place with a time of 28:24.

Mike Biwott of American International won the race in a time of 25:02.

Both squads are in action next at the Bradley Classic on Oct. 18. The race is slated for 3:00 p.m. ET.

Results