Senior Baidy Ba placed first with a time of 24.43.5 in the men’s 8k at the Falcon Invite in Bowling Green, Ohio, Friday evening. Ba closed the regular season with his second win in a row and third win of the season.
The men’s team placed fifth out of 10 competing teams, while the women placed ninth out of 12 teams.
The Flashes last participated in the race during their 2022 season. With only four runners, the men did not place; however, the women’s team previously finished sixth out of 13 teams.
Although the course for both races had extra distance, the Flashes maintained their speed.
“The course was an extra 200 meters long on the women’s side and about 250 on the men’s side,” coach Laura Rybka said. “That’s anywhere from around 45 to 50 seconds slow given that extra distance. Had it been a true distance, I think it would have been PRs for almost everyone on the team.”
Graduate student Ethan Yost ran his best 8k time of the season, 25:15.0. He placed seventh, and was the second finisher for the men’s team. Sophomore Rylan Winkler was next, placing 39th with a time of 26:48.2
“The men actually did a workout during their race,” Rybka said. “So considering the extra distance, and also that they did a workout, I think it could have been a season-best for everyone that ran.”
Rybka noted a positive shift in the men’s mindsets.
“I was really happy with their focus and mentality,” Rybka said. “It’s something that they’ve been working on since it’s challenging mentally when the race is so long, but in this meet, you could see that their fitness is solid from a mental standpoint.”
Freshman Nora Salem was the first finisher for the women’s team, running a time of 23:03.1 for 40th place.
“Nora Salem did, especially, well breaking off on her own and racing super confidently,” Rybka said.
Senior Sydney Miller and junior Nicole Kuehner were the next finishers for the women’s team, both running times under 24 minutes. Miller’s time of 23:42.7 landed her in 64th place with Kushner not far behind, running 23:55.8 for 68th place.
“As a team, on the women’s side, we did really well for where we are,” Rybka said. “A lot of the team was not feeling their best this week, but I’m proud of how they stuck in it even though they were tired.”
With the regular season complete, the Flashes plan to refine their training in preparation for the Mid-American Conference Championships.
“We’re going to specifically train to feel sharp,” Rybka said. “We’ll slowly drop a little bit of volume each week to make the workouts shorter, but in return, they will become more physically intense.”
The Flashes’ next meet is Nov. 2 at the MAC Championships in Muncie, Ind.
Last season, the MAC Championships were held in Bowling Green, where the men placed sixth out of nine teams and the women placed last out of 12 teams.
“Right now, I’m happy with where both teams are,” Rybka said. “If we continue to focus on the right things, we are going to be where we want to be.”
Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
