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BAY CITY, Mich. - Ashland University senior Brock Weaver (Ashland, Ohio) was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) men's cross country "Runner of the Week" after leading the Eagles to the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational last weekend.

GLIAC Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Brock Weaver - Ashland University
(SR, Chadron, Ohio)

Ashland University senior Brock Weaver led the Eagles to the team championship of the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational last Saturday (Sept. 10).  Weaver was the runner-up at OWU, covering the 8K course in 26:08.8.  AU led a 17-team field with 32 points, easily outdistancing second place Albion (88) and Findlay (90) which finished third.

Ashland - The Eagles ran at the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational last Saturday (Sept. 10) and won the team title.  AU finished with 32 points.  Albion (88) was second and Findlay (90) was third. The field consisted of 17 teams…senior Brock Weaver (Ashland, Ohio) was the runnerup. His time on the 8K course was 26:08.8.  Denison’s Dee Salukombo won the race in 26:01.9.  Junior Colton Johnson (Mt. Gilead, Ohio) was fourth in 26:14.4 and senior Matt Stratman (Chardon, Ohio) was fifth (26:25.2).  Sophomore Jake Sussman (Wadsworth, Ohio) gave the Eagles their fourth Top 10 finish. Sussman was 10th (26:45.0). Senior Cameron Johnson (Mt. Gilead, Ohio) was 11th (26:48.3)…Ashland is idle this week.

Ferris State - The Ferris State University men’s cross country teams hosted the annual Ray Helsing Bulldog Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 10) at FSU’s Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids. Junior Ryan Chute led the Bulldogs by coming in sixth overall (26:27.40). Freshman Andrew Harper was 15th (26:47.05), freshman Spencer Gerber took 19th place (27:05.28) and sophomore David Silversmith placed 33rd (27:24.55) for Ferris State. Junior Tyler Crossman finished 36th (27:29.43) with senior Steve Neshkoff taking 47th place (28:01.34) and freshman Blake Garver coming in 49th (28:05.46) in the front half of the pack for the Bulldogs. In addition to Ferris State, the collegiate invitational field included a variety of student-athletes from other schools including Ferris, Davenport, Hillsdale, Lake Superior State, Grand Valley State, Northwood and Bellarmine (Ky.) in addition to unattached competitors. Saturday’s race gave collegiate participants a look at the regional site as FSU will also host the 2011 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 5, at Katke Golf Course. The Ray Helsing Bulldog Invitational was renamed last year in honor of former coach Ray Helsing, who guided the Bulldog cross country along with track and field programs from 1968-82. This year (2011) marked the 36th-straight (37th overall) running of the Bulldog Invitational and either a men’s or women’s collegiate event has been held each year since 1976. The Ferris State men’s and women’s cross country teams are guided by former Bulldog standout and current fourth-year head coach Steve Picucci. The Bulldog men’s team was listed 10th in the preseason regional rankings. The Bulldogs next will take part in the Michigan State Spartan Invitational on Friday (Sept. 16) in East Lansing, Mich.

Findlay - The University of Findlay men's cross country team competed at the Ohio Wesleyan University invitational on Saturday, Sept. 10 in Deleware, Ohio. Justin Eilerman led the men's team to a third place finish with a time of 26:40.3 to take eigth overall in the event, while teamates Shoayb Bascal and Tim Majoy finished ninth and 12 with times of 26:42.6 and 26:49.7 respectively. Jocob Hayes (27:32.9), Sean Jones (27:36.4), Joe Guerra (28:12.5), Luis Velasco (29:36.4), Brock Lloyd (29:49.3), Alex Betts (30:19.2), Connor Walthour (31:37.3), Dillon Webster (32:15.2) and Colin Walthour (32:26.1) also competed for the Oilers. The men's team will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 17 to compete at the Iona Meet of Champions in Bronx, N.Y.

Grand Valley State -  The Lakers placed five runners in the top 11, all sophomores, at the Bulldog Invite over the weekend despite sitting out 12 runners for the competition...GVSU was led by sophomore Joe Graves (Milford, Mich./Hartland) who finished second in the event with a time of 26:06.12...Sophomore Brandon Cushman (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage) was the next highest finisher for the Lakers, placing seventh (26:28.32)...GVSU’s top five was rounded out by three more sophomores, as Jimmy McKeiver (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) was ninth (26:37.30), Kyle LeMieux (Linden, Mich.) was 10th (26:40.64) and Bryce Pulley (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Malone) was 11th (26:41.36)...The Lakers will have their full squad competing this weekend at the Spartan Invitational.

Hillsdale - Jacob Secor took first overall at Saturday morning’s Ray Helsing Bulldog Invitational, held near the campus of Ferris State University. He won the race in 25:50.01. Secor wasn’t lonely near the top of the finishers at the meet from Hillsdale. Joshua Mirth took third overall with a time of 26:07.02. There were no team scores kept at the meet. Other top finishers for the Charger men included Matt Perkins (13th, 26:44.31), Jack Butler (21st, 27:06.31) and former All-American Tim Jagielski (23rd, 27:12.90). No team scores were kept at this meet.

Lake Erie - The Lake Erie College men’s cross country team opened the 2011 season Saturday (Sept. 10) in Canton, Ohio at the Walsh University Ric Sayre Invitational.  The Storm men placed fifth in the event. Sophomore Jimmy Hudd (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor/Ashland) was the top finisher for Lake Erie, placing 21st overall in the men’s 8,000-meter race with a time of 28:17 in his first race for the Storm.  Junior Craig Gerber (Fremont, Ohio/Clyde) was next in 31st place at 28:46. Hudd and Gerber were the only Storm runners in the 68-runner field to post a sub-30:00 time.

Lake Superior State -  Sophomore Taylor Heath (Hanover, Mich.) placed eighth among 105 runners to lead Lake Superior State Saturday at the Ray Helsing Bulldog Invitational, which was the season opener for the Laker cross country team. Heath finish in 26:31.02, while Laker sophomore Mark List (Lansing, Mich.) was 22nd in 27:12.13. LSSU’s next meet is the Roy Griak on Sept. 24 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Michigan Tech - Sophomore Matt Dugan was the top finisher for the Huskies finishing 10th at the Northland College Invitational in Ashland, Wis. He covered the eight-kilometer course in 28:15. Tech used strong pack running tactics to complete its top-five. Freshman Brandon Kampstra was 11th (28:26) and freshman Calvin Nitz (28:28) edged out junior Karl Koivisto (28:28) for 12th place. Freshman Eric Parsell was just a step behind in 14th (28:29). Minnesota Duluth won the men’s race with a perfect score of 15 with Tech second with 60 points.

Northwood - The Northwood University cross country teams opened its 2011 season at the Ray Helsing Bulldog Invite Saturday (September 10). No team scoring was taken at the event, which was hosted by Ferris State at the Katke Golf Course. Marcus Rodgers (Howell, Mich./Pinckney) was the top finisher for the Timberwolves on the men’s side.  He placed 32nd overall with a time of 27:23.97 on the 8K course.  Grant Goodspeed clocked 27:44.34 to finish 42nd. Northwood will travel to the MSU Spartan invite Friday (September 16).

Ohio Dominican - Paced by new faces to the program, Ohio Dominican’s men’s cross country team put forth another solid effort Saturday morning in their second meet of the young season at the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational at Liberty Park. Freshmen Todd Hewitt (Eaton, OH) was the top runner for ODU, finishing the 8K race 28th fastest of 228 runners in a time of 27:29.7, just 14 seconds shy of the team record. Hewitt’s classmates Michael Barber (New Franklin, OH) and Matthew Richardson (Columbus, OH) also had successful days on the course, both setting new personal bests with times of 27:48.9 and 29:05.0, respectively. ODU will be back in action next Friday, Sept. 16 as the Panthers head to South Bend, Ind. for the National Catholic Championships at the University of Notre Dame.

Saginaw Valley State - The Saginaw Valley State University men’s cross country team competed in the first meet of the season today (9/2) at the Jeff Drenth Memorial. The Cardinals were led by junior Tyler Noble (Shepherd, Mich./Shepherd HS) who placed seventh overall with a final time of 16:09.51.  Following close behind Noble was teammate Joseph Burelle who crossed the line at 16:15.63 which was good for a tenth place finish.  Sophomores Chad Scott (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern HS) and Kyle Henderson (Freeland, Mich./Freeland HS) would earn 19th and 23rd places for the Cardinals timing in at 16:38.86 and 16:49.09, respectively.  Rounding out Saginaw Valley’s top-five was redshirt freshman Tony Peel (Swartz Creek, Mich./Swartz Creek HS) who came in with a final time of 16:56.41, good for a 24th place finish. Saginaw Valley will be back in action again Friday (9/16) when they travel to East Lansing to compete in the MSU Spartan Invitational.   

Tiffin - Tiffin University was idle last week and will be back in action October 1 at the All-Ohio Invitational at Cedarville.

Wayne State - The Wayne State men’s cross country team earned its first Running Fit-Detroit Titan Cross Country Invitational title since 2006 at Cass Benton Park in Northville, Mich last Saturday (9/10) … senior Travis Barczak took home first-place honors for the Warriors with a time of 21:15.79 … senior Kevin deBear ran to a sixth-place finish (21:44.21) on the four-mile course … junior Jimmy Maloney (21:50.08), sophomore Nicholas Jackson (22:06.19) and senior Alex Townsend (22:11.33) conquered the eighth, ninth and 10th positions, respectively … freshman Kory Lohrmann posted a 17th-place finish (22:29.47) … junior Phil Baldick finished in 18th place with a time of 22:31.76 … junior Jason Smith rounded out the top 20 with a mark of 22:45.99 … WSU runs this Friday at the 31st Annual Michigan State Spartan Cross Country Invitational in East Lansing.