BG’s Eddie Kipchoge made history last Friday.
For the first time since 1982, a Falcon on the men’s side won the All-Ohio Division I individual crown. Kipchoge topped the best from all the Division I teams in the state, which included the top-three contingent from Ohio State, as well as the ever tough Miami team, with a blistering time of 25:30.2.
“[Kipchoge] ran a great race,” said coach Cami Wells. “Winning the All-Ohio meet is a great accomplishment. He got out aggressively and ran a smart race.”
The win gave Kipchoge his second Mid-American Conference runner of the week award.
Although the Falcons placed eighth out of 10 teams, they were able to close the gaps between each other, something that Wells has been stressing all season.
“The team did well getting closer, but we still have some work to do, but there was definite improvement,” Wells said.
Brad Wells finished 38th with a time of 27:40, followed closely by Edgar Ramirez in 44th with a 27:56.8. Ramirez passed up usual third man Rogers Kipchumba who is just coming back from an illness, and finished 50th with a time of 28:23.0. Kevin Kaighin rounded off the scorers with a 64th place finish and a time of 30:42.4. Kyle Kilbane placed sixth on the team with an overall finish of 66th and a time of 32.07.0.
Despite their success as a team, the Falcons have yet to be at full strength. In addition to Kipchumba recovering from illness, Brad Wells is overcoming bronchitis, a terrible ordeal for a runner that can actually destroy lung capacity permanently if not treated properly.
Coach Wells opted to keep freshman Hillary Maiyo out of the race on Friday due to a knee injury that has plagued him since the first meet of the season.
“Hillary will return this weekend, but we chose to keep him out at All-Ohio because it’s a very hilly course and that can be very bad for anyone with knee problems,” Wells said.
On a brighter note, Edgar Ramirez turned in his best time of the season for an 8k race, and brought with him some inter-squad competition for third position with Rogers Kipchumba.
“Edgar ran a nice race,” Wells said. “[Kipchumba] is still having trouble with illnesses, but hopefully they will push each other again next weekend.”
The Falcons play host again this weekend for the Falcon Invitational. Wells hopes that the familiarity with the course will play a key role in the team’s success.
“It’s always an advantage to know the course, and we definitely do,” Wells said.
The meet, which has hosted up to 20 of the top teams in the nation, has 15 teams scheduled to come, with more teams still committing. Among the teams planning to attend is the University of Miami (Ohio), who is inarguably one of the stronger teams in the MAC.
“We are pretty evenly matched with the other teams, and we know the course, so hopefully that means we can seriously contend this weekend and come out with a win.”
