2008 Falcon Invite Results in pdf
Patrick Liederbach (Petoskey, MI/Petoskey) nearly came away with his first collegiate victory, but settled for second as the Detroit Titans men's cross country team placed fourth with 84 points at the Falcon Invite. The race, which was just 130 meters short of an official 8k course, was held on Saturday morning at Bowling Green State University on the Forrest Creason Golf Course.
"I thought we ran okay," said head coach Guy Murray. "We knew it was going to be close and we were right in there, but faded a bit the last couple of miles. Overall, it was a good experience to prep for the Horizon League in racing to beat specific people in a smaller race."
Liederbach was right in the thick of things from the start in the 108-man field, never straying from among the leaders. The race came down the stretch with Liederbach and Siena Height's Alex Russeau stride for stride, but Russeau was able to get a few steps in front and won the race in 24:57, just three seconds ahead of Liederbach's 25:00.
"Pat ran another good race," commented Murray. "He put himself in position to win and when you do that, you know you ran well and good things will happen."
The Titans had two other runners finish in the top 20 and six harriers place in the top 50. Freshman Alex Vanias (Leroy, MI/Pine River) was the next in line placing 13th in 25:35, while senior Andrew Hayner (Royal Oak, MI/U-D Jesuit) was 17th in a time of 25:46.
Senior Jon Hans (Dearborn Heights, MI/Crestwood) finished 25th in 26:02, with sophomore Alex Harris (Huntington Woods,MI/Shrine) just behind him at 26:15, good for 31st place. Sophomores Brian Greenhoe (Sand Lake, MI) and Ryan Ayala (Coopersville, MI) also claimed top 50 spots with Greenhoe finishing 42nd in 26:37, while Ayala was 47th clocked at 26:50.
"Brian ran a tremendous race making his debut in the varsity seven," said Murray. "He has worked very hard and is ready to help us. The run would have been a PR by over a minute if it was on a full 8k course."
Junior Kevin Wozniak (54th - 27:20) and sophomores Alex Gould (60th - 27:38) and Nate Jenkins (77th - 28:25) rounded out the Titan runners in the race.
The Titans will now get ready for the Horizon League Championship, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Cofrin Memorial Arboretum Trails on the campus of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
