Those involved with BG’s cross country team are excited as expectations are very high for both the men’s and women’s teams this fall.

The women’s team returns several experienced runners, while the men’s team is starting to find some leadership, despite not having any seniors on its roster.

The Falcons open their season Friday with a dual meet at Toledo.

Mid-American Conference coaches voted the women’s team to finish eighth this season in the preseason poll. Despite coming off of a disappointing fifth-place finish at the conference championships last season, coach Cami Wells is still confident about her team finishing toward the top of the MAC.

‘We’re ready to improve on last season,’ she said. ‘We have a good senior class, and I’m excited about what we can do this season.’

Motivated by that disappointing championship finish, members of the women’s team are focusing on teamwork and communication this season during practice in order to improve from last season.

‘If we’re going to improve as a team, we need to work as a team,’ junior Heather Conger said. ‘No one can win the MAC by herself.’

Senior Carly Bates echoedConger, emphasizing what she and her teammates need to do.

‘We’re all competitive individuals, and we want to do the best we can,’ Bates said. ‘But we need to help each other instead of competing against each other because the goal is to beat our opponent.

‘We can improve by communicating and encouraging each other during a race so that everyone knows we’re fighting for each other.’

MAC coaches picked the men’s team to finish ninth – which is last in the conference. Yet much excitement surrounds the men’s team this season, as Wells believes her runners have improved a lot since last season.

‘They made a lot of progress last spring, and they had their best summer training yet, so I’m excited to see how they’ll do this season,’ Wells said.

Looking to make significant improvement in the standings, the men’s team will look to utilize the experience it gained last season.

Junior co-captain Christopher Moody believes last season was a building block for this season, so things can only get better.

‘Last season, I was satisfied because we kept battling in races,’ he said. ‘So if everyone does their part by doing the little things right, then we should improve as a team.’

The Falcons’ home opener is the Mel Brodt Invitational Sept. 12 at 2:45 p.m.

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