TicketsSept. 13, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The University of Cincinnati's men's and women's cross country teams turned in another strong performance as both teams finished in first place at the 22nd annual Mel Brodt Invitational hosted by Bowling Green State University. Sophomore Lilian Jelimo (Kapsabet, Kenya) finished in first place in the women's race, her second straight first-place finish, while senior Randy King (North Bend, Ohio/St. Xavier) also finished in first-place in the men's race.
Randy King finished the 8,000-meter race with a time of 25:57.57, finishing more than nine seconds ahead of Kent State's Tony Jordanek for first place. Senior Rick King (North Bend, Ohio/St. Xavier) was the next Bearcat to cross the line with a time of 26:16.58. After two Kent State runners finished in fourth and fifth place, senior Kyle Dragan, junior Solomon Kessio and freshman Eric Finan took sixth, seventh and eighth place, respectively, to secure the Bearcats second consecutive win.
For the second week in a row, Jelimo took first-place honors with a time of 17:39.16 in the women's 5,000-meter race. Jelimo finished 29 seconds ahead of IPFW's Crystina Martinez for first place. Cincinnati's next best finish was secured by sophomore Jill Glassmeyer, who finished in sixth place with a time of 18:37.49. Junior Tamara Masters, senior Megan Knapp and freshman Alison Leckrone rounded out the Bearcats scoring with eighth-, 11th- and 13th-place finishes.
The men's team finished with 25 points in the Division I group, finishing 13 points ahead of Kent State. Marshall followed with a third-place showing, followed by Bowling Green, Niagara and IPFW. The women's team had a first-place score of 39 points in the Division I group, followed by Kent State's 55 points. Bowling Green finished in third place, followed by IPFW, Ohio State, Marshall, Cleveland State and Niagara.
Both teams have two weeks off before returning to competition on Saturday, Sept. 27 at the Ohio Invitational in Athens, Ohio.