BG hosted the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championship this past weekend.

The men’s team finished ninth with 228 points and the women’s team finished sixth with 156 points.

On a rainy and gloomy afternoon, the runners were still expected to run and perform at high levels.

“We talked about it today, of course it was going to be sloppy,” BG head coach Lou Snelling said.

The first event was the men’s 8k where BG finished ninth with a total of 228 points, but senior Jason Salyer stood out finishing sixth and earning first team All-MAC honors with a time of 26:20.85.

“Jason has put a lot of work in and has been very consistent,” BG assistant coach Eric Thatcher said. “He came in with a lot of confidence.”

Jason Salyer is the first BG cross country runner in 18 years to earn first team All-MAC honors.

“It was the type of result we have been looking for,” Thatcher said. “He executed extremely well.”

The second event was the women’s 6k where sophomore Rebecca Rae finished No. 21 as the teams’ top finisher with a time of 22:01.61. She was followed by sophomore Andrea Alt, who finished No. 27 and freshman Brittney Darah, who finished at the No. 31 spot.

Sophomore Amanda Garlak finished soon after Darah at the No. 34 spot and freshman Rachel Durbin finished No. 47.

“I think I did alright with the weather conditions,” Durbin said. “I love that it was held here at BG because that is rare and I got to experience it as a freshman.”

The BG’s women’s team finished sixth out of 12 teams with 156 points as a whole.

“We are still pretty young,” Snelling said. “I’m excited about the direction we are going in.”

BG will take this optimism and hopes to turn in a solid performance when its compete at the NCAA regional meet on Nov. 15 in Madison, Wisc.