Complete OAC Coaches Poll (.pdf)
BEREA, OHIO -- The 2012 Baldwin Wallace University men's cross country teams are picked to place fifth and sixth, respectively, this season by the Ohio Athletic Conference Coaches.
The BW men return eight lettermen from last year's squad that had a 74-56 overall mark, placed sixth at the OAC Championships and 19th of 35 teams at the regional meet. Headlining the 2012-13 teams is senior NCAA Division III national qualifier Kenneth Janosko (Mentor).
Janosko, who was the OAC Co-Runner of the Year in 2011, placed first for BW at every meet last season and will be the leader this season. He won a meet title at The College of Wooster Meet, was the OAC individual runner-up at the OAC Championship Meet and placed an OAC-best sixth at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Meet and 66th at the Division III National Meet. He will be one of the best in the OAC and Region again this season.
Joining Janosko as returning lettermen are seniors Ryan Fallow (Medina), David Gerding (Strongsville) and Nick Jeffers (South Amherst/ Firelands), juniors Stephen Humbert (Middletown/Lakota East) and Dusan Vasic (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Hts.) and sophomores Issac Baker (Lithia, Fla./ Newsome) and Greg Blevins (Mentor). At the 2011 OAC Meet, Jeffers (36th) and Blevins (50th) were in the top-50 of 156 total runners.
In addition to the returning lettermen, six freshmen are ready to make their marks on the team. They are Gabe Buehner (Parma), Alexander Fuhrmann (Painesville/Riverside), Aaron Long (Mishawaka, Ind./Penn), Dan Nowak (Morgantown, W.Va./ University), Edwin Rosa (Olmsted Falls) and Jason Young (Parma/ Normandy).
"Our men's team returns some solid veterans who have the talent and ability to elevate our program from a year ago," said veteran Head Coach Dr. Bill Taraschke, who has led 49 Yellow Jacket teams to OAC titles in his 29 years at the University. "Obviously, Ken is a fine runner and a fierce competitor who will be among the best runners in the OAC and Region. In addition, if each of our veterans and each of our newcomers improve each day and week, we will be a strong team by the time the OAC Meet rolls around. We are looking forward to the season starting this weekend at Wooster."
The Yellow Jacket men open the season this Friday, August 31 when they run at the annual The College of Wooster Invitational Meet on the LC Boles Golf Course on the Wooster campus. The meet consists of two races. The men each run a 4K and a separate 5K race.
FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and e-mail at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.BWyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.
