BEREA, OHIO -- The 2013 Baldwin Wallace University men's cross country team will look to have a much-improved season.
Head Coach Dr. Bill Taraschke enters his 30th year overall at the University and 24th as cross country coach.
"We return eight letterwinners and ten runners overall," said the veteran head coach who has led the Yellow Jackets to nearly 50 OAC titles in his 29 years at the University. "Each young man will need to work hard and improve for us to move into the top part of the Ohio Athletic Conference this fall. We have some talented runners coming back and some new one's coming to campus. Overall, we are optimistic about having a much-improved season."
Headlining the team will be senior three-time letterwinner Dusan Vasic (Broadview Heights/ Brecksville-Broadview Heights) and junior two-time letterwinner Greg Blevins (Mentor). Both Vasic and Blevins finished in the top three in every meet they competed at last season and will look to be team leaders this season.
Vasic, who finished second at the 2012 OAC Championship Meet in a mark of 26:50.8, recorded his career-best time in the 8K race at the 2012 Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble where he crossed the finish line in 25:56.10.
Blevins was the third Yellow Jacket to crossthe finish line at the 2012 OAC Championship Meet in a mark of 27:02.9. He also recorded his career-best time in the 8K race at Oberlin in a time of 25:50.60.
Joining Vasic and Blevins on the team as returning veterans are sophomores Gabe Buehner (Parma), Alex Fuhrmann (Painesville/ Riverside), Aaron Long (Mishawaka, Ind./ Penn), Dan Nowak (Morgantown, W. Va./ University) and Jason Young (Parma/ Normandy).
In collegiate cross country, a team score is calculated by the finishes of its top five runners. A year ago, Vasic (29th) and Blevins (40th) both placed in the Top-50 at the OAC Championship Meet, while Nowak (80th) was the fifth Yellow Jacket finisher.
In addition, sophomore transfer Mike Miller (Strongsville) and freshman Seth Duncan (North Olmsted) will compete in their first cross country seasons and will look to earn their first varsity letters.
Taraschke expects Miller to compete for a spot in the top five and be a potential leader after Vasic and Blevins.
"Mike transfered here during the track season and has great potential as a distance runner," said Taraschke. "We are looking for him to be one of our top three runners and someone who will add depth and strength to the team."
The Yellow Jackets come to campus on Saturday, August 17 and then depart for preseason camp.
"We look forward to preseason camp," said Taraschke. "It is a time for everyone to get to know each other, bond and build some team cameraderie. For many years, our team has come together as a big family. It has been a key to our success, and we look forward to being successful this season.
"We have got a lot of good, young runners that are still maturing and hopefully we can find another two of those that will fill in the fourth and fifth spots on our team and make us a successful team, "continued Taraschke. "The men's team could be very good if some of our younger athletes develop into the fourth and fifth spots."
The Yellow Jacket men open the season on Friday, August 30 at 6:00 p.m. 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 four races. The men run in either a 4K or 5K race.
The 2013 OAC Championship Meet will be hosted by Otterbein University on November 2 at 11 a.m. and the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet is November 16 at 11 a.m. at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. The 2013 NCAA Division III National Championship Meet will be contested in Hanover, Ind. at 11 a.m. on November 23.
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.
