The BGSU men’s cross country team hosted the Falcon Invitational on Friday afternoon at the Mel Brodt Cross Country Course. Competing against a strong field that included several Mid-American Conference (MAC) programs, the Falcons posted 141 points in the 8k race, finishing sixth out of eight teams.
Central Michigan claimed the team title with 38 points, followed by Robert Morris (50) and Marshal (97) to round out the top three.
For Bowling Green, Friday’s race was another step in the team’s steady progression as they continue to prepare for the upcoming MAC Championships in two weeks.
“We came in with a few objectives that we knew we wanted to work on—just packing up, working together throughout the race,” associate head coach Rachel Rhynard said. “I think they really did execute that. We’re coming off the Paul Short, which was a much bigger field and a totally different race. We just needed to fine-tune some things from there.”
The Falcons took advantage of the familiarity of their home course, focusing on specific training elements in the days leading up to the meet.
“The last few workouts that we’ve had, we did some mile repeats moving across the course, some hills, and just focusing on the things that we need to in training that will help us during this race,” Rhynard said. “This size race today was very similar to what it’s going to be at the MAC Championship, so just managing it how we can with the number of people.”
Several Falcons stood out with strong performances, with junior Micah Bentley leading the team in 26:07.4 for a 27th overall finish. He was followed closely by sophomore Luke Lesseuer (26:08.8, 29th) and sophomore Owen Zaumeyer (26:11.5, 30th).
Zaumeyer drew praise from Rhynard for his continued progress this season.“Owen Zaumeyer is really coming on.” Rhynard said. “He was really good today.”
Junior Luke Woolard was the Falcons’ fourth finisher, running 26:31.2 for 41st place, while freshman Ashton Boyd capped off the scoring five in 27:02.5 (51st). Rounding out the lineup were senior Bryce Weber (27:08.4, 56th) and freshman Wyatt Ulbricht (27:42.6, 63rd).
Rhynard also complemented Boyd’s performance, saying, “Ashton Boyd is just kind of putting things together as a freshman and adjusting. The whole team fed off each other’s energy really well, they support each other—it’s just a great group of guys.”
With just two weeks before the conference meet in Buffalo, the Falcons will continue their training in preparation.
“This is our last hard, hard week of training,” Rhynard said. “So now we’re gonna start dialing things back a little bit. Again, just fine-tuning a few more things.”
The Falcons will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 1, when they travel to Buffalo, New York, for the MAC Championships at Audubon Cross Country Course.
