Sept. 10, 2007

Contact: Greg Murphy

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Meet #3 - Mel Brodt Invitational
Date: Saturday, September 15, 2007
Time: 10:45 am
Site: Bowling Green, Ohio

THE STARTING LINE: The Vikings will travel to Bowling Green, Ohio to compete in the Mel Brodt Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 15). The race is scheduled to begin at 10:45 am.

LAST TIME OUT: CSU ran to an eighth place finish at the Crusader Invitational on Friday (Sept. 7). Allison Craine was the top Viking finisher as she placed 19th overall with a time of 20:45, while Colleen Conway was 31st in 21:38.

THE HEAD COACH: Entering his third season at the helm of the cross country team, Joe Jaketic has continued to make steady progress in building the program. Last season, Jaketic guided the squad to an eighth place showing at the Horizon League Championships. It marked the first time since the 1997 MCC Championships that CSU finished ahead of a league foe. Jaketic is a veteran of CSU athletics as he isin his 37th season overseeing the department's equipment operations.

LEADER OF THE PACK: Allison Craine has gotten her collegiate career off to a nice start as she has been CSU's top finisher in each of the first two races. After running a personal best (20:16) in her first career race, Craine came back to place 19th at the Crusader Invitational on Friday with a time of 20:45.

SEEING DOUBLE: Identical twins Julie and Audrey Piotrowski will once again team up and cause opponents trouble this season. Julie, who missed all but one race last season due to injury, has been CSU's third finisher in both events this year, while Audrey has been fifth for the Vikings in each event this season.

LUCK OF THE IRISH: Colleen Conway, who placed 42nd at the Horizon League Championships last year, has gotten her sophomore campaign off to a solid start as she has been CSU's second finisher in the two events this year. In the season opening Bill Sudeck Invitational (Sept. 1), Craine ran a 21:00 flat, one second from tying her personal best.

UP NEXT: The Vikings will return to action at the Ohio University Invitational next Saturday (Sept. 22). The race is slated to begin at 10:30 am.