Both Falcon cross country teams lost to Toledo Friday night in BG’s season opener.
The men’s team lost 40-19. UT has now won the last four meets against BG.
Junior Christopher Moody placed third with a time of 15:33. Toledo junior Elisha Kipchumba finished first at 15:13.
Freshman Jason Salyer finished sixth with a time of 15:42, and junior Jesse Smuda placed eighth at 16:09.
‘Obviously, I wanted to win, so I’m disappointed,’ Moody said. ‘I’m happy about most of my teammates setting personal records. We all ran hard, and no one gave up.’
Coach Cami Wells said she was pleased overall with how the men ran.
‘We’re in better shape than last season and our effort was better,’ Wells said. ‘Our hard work is showing, but we have a ways to go.
‘I was impressed with how well everyone finished, especially Jason Salyer. And Jesse Smuda showed tremendous improvement tonight.’
The women’s team lost by a similar count of 40-15. Friday was the first time BG lost to Toledo in the meet’s seven-year history.
Toledo runners placed first through fifth, while BG runners accounted for the next six spots.
BG junior Ashley Fischer finished sixth with a time of 14:48. Toledo sophomore Ari Fischer finished first at 14:01.
Five BG runners placed seventh through 11th behind Fischer – Carly Wells (14:57), Andrea Pereira de Almeida (14:58), Abby Koch (15:02), Autumn Dettmann (15:19) and Heather Conger (15:20).
‘It was nice getting Ashley Fischer back,’ Wells said.
Fischer was injured last year after having a great freshman season. But her high finish wasn’t enough for the Falcons to beat the Rockets, but the coach is not upset by the loss.
‘As a team, this loss hurts because it’s not what we expected. But Toledo just ran better than we did,’ Wells said. ‘I’m not displeased in any way though. The key for us is not to get down.’
The Falcons will look for their first wins of the season Saturday when they host the Mel Brodt Invitational at 2 p.m.
