The Falcon cross country programs took on Toledo last Saturday, Oct. 27 in the MAC Championships and found incredible success. Both teams had experience with the course, as they raced there at the Toledo Rockets Invitational earlier this season. Both teams finished in the top ten, the women finishing in seventh place and the men finishing in second place.
For the women, Rachel Walny continued her successful senior season, pacing the way for the Falcons and finishing in third place. Walny was in first for most of the race and finished with an overall time of 20:41. Walny will finish the MAC season on the All-Conference first-team. Just behind Walny was sophomore Sarah Hunsley, who finished with a time of 21:46, earning her 20th overall and a new personal best. Freshman Katerina Shuble raced her way into 32nd place with a time of 22:11, and sophomore Jessi Lindstrom finished the race in 39th with a time of 22:23. Rounding out the scoring for the Falcons were Megan Aalberts, Allison Holahan, and Claire Reynolds. Aalberts finished in 61st with a time of 22:52; Holahan finished 73rd with a time of 23:11; Reynolds finished 79th with a time of 23:31.
The men finished with two All-Conference runners — senior Noah Schaub and junior Tyler Phillips — for the first time since 1995.
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“We’ve talked about it for a while, and it was pretty special for us to do that,” Phillips said.
Schaub continued his success, as he finished second with a time of 24:26. Phillips continued his strong season, finishing third with a time of 24:35. Phillips talked about the success the team had over the weekend.
“It was a good day for us overall, as a team. Our goal was to win, and that didn’t happen. But we made some strides, and was good for the young guys to get the experience for the next couple of years,” he said.
Junior Jonathan Voth finished 20th out of 75 total runners with a time of 25:18, and freshman Kyle Hibinger finished 24th overall with a time of 25:31. Senior Jonathan Wenning finished 37th with a time of 25:42. Freshman Cesar Arellano finished 41st with a time of 25:49. Arellano talked about his success during his freshman season.
“I looked up to the upperclassmen and took their words to heart,” he said. “Coach has done a great job, and with the team aspect, I’ve been able to work off that to have the season I am.”
Rounding out the Falcons were freshman Abel Nijakowski, senior Paul Garbarino and junior Raymond Berling. Nijakowski finished 43rd with a time of 25:55, Garbarino raced his way into 53rd with a time of 26:15 and Berling finished 71st with a time of 27:06. Schaub talked about the team mindset heading into regionals.
“We’re not going to do anything differently and keep the mindset similar to what it has been all season,” he said. “Our goal (for regionals) is to finish top ten as a team, but it’s probably going to take a better race than we had this weekend.”
The Falcons will continue their postseason on Nov. 9 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet in Terre Haute, Indiana. The men are ranked 13th in the Great Lakes Region, according to the USTFCCCA Regional Rankings.
