BEREA, Ohio – There is an air of excitement running through the streets on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University as the men's cross country teams begin a new era under the direction of first-year Head Coach Joe Eby. He replaced Dr. William Taraschke, who retired in May of 2015 after 30 years of service to the University.
The team has bought into the new system and are training hard," commented Eby. "I am excited to see what we will do this season especially at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships as well as in the region. Our goals are to improve each and every day in order to be ready to run our best by championship season."
A year ago, the BW men finished eighth at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships 12th at the All-Ohio Division III Championships and 32nd at the Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships.
Senior Greg Blevins (Mentor) and sophomore Brian Brennan (Akron/Walsh) lead a group of seven returners and five newcomers into the 2015 season. Blevins, who had his season cut short in 2014, returns as a two-time All-Ohio honoree. In his first season, Brennan earned All-OAC honors and was an Academic All-OAC selection.
"We will look to
Greg and
Brian to be our team leaders this fall," said Eby. "The two have shown great leadership this preseason and have the team excited for the upcoming season."
In addition to
Blevins and
Brennan, the team returns seniors Alex Fuhrman (Painesville/Riverside),
Aaron Long (Mishawka, Ind./ Penn) and
Jason Young (Parma/ Normandy) and sophomore
Brady Jeffers (South Amherst/ Firelands),
Evan Milovich (Westlake) and
Justin Swords (Brunswick) and
Dylan Tanner (Mentor), who all ran last year at the OAC Championships and Great Lakes Regional.
The Yellow Jackets open the 2015 season on Tuesday, September 1 when they travel to Wooster to compete at the annual College of Wooster Invitational. The All-Ohio Division III Championships will be contested on Friday, October 2 at Cedarville University. BW hosts the OAC Championships on Saturday, October 31 at Wallace Lake in the Cleveland Metroparks.
