Ferris State Cross Country Squads Kick Off Year With Strong Showing In Bulldog Invite
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's cross country squads had an opportunity to run on their home course as the Bulldogs kicked off the 2019 season by hosting the 45th annual Ray Helsing Bulldog Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 7) at FSU's Katke Golf Course.
The event featured both collegiate and prep divisions with a large contingent of Bulldog runners in the races.
Ferris State senior standout Katie Etelamaki won the women's 5,000 meters in a time of 18:41.42 and paced a large group of Bulldog runners that captured the top 19 spots, including a pair of unattached athletes. Sophomore Paige Deitering earned runner-up honors as she was clocked in 19:38.61 overall.
FSU's Kylie Hutchinson took third place (19:43.77) with Taylor Thrush fourth (19:58.26) and senior Kensington Garvey coming in fifth (20:07.57) in the event. A total of 21 runners competed in the women's field with representatives from Kirtland Community College along with the Bulldogs.
In the men's race, Ferris State had the top 12 finishers in the 8,000-meter event with junior Weston Rackley coming in first overall in a time of 27:22.22. He was followed by fellow junior Aaron Jarema in second place (27:31.72) with freshman Brandon Wirth third (27:35.52), sophomore Donis Harris fourth (28:09.60) and freshman Brenden Knuth fifth (28:17.71).
The men's field overall included a total of 30 finishers with runners from Alpena Community College and Kirtland CC joining the Bulldogs.
The Ray Helsing Bulldog Invitational was renamed in 2010 in honor of former coach Ray Helsing, who passed away in 2014. He guided the Bulldog cross country along with track and field programs from 1968-82. Helsing was inducted into the Bulldog Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001 and tutored more All-Americans than any coach in FSU history. He helped produce 20 All-Americans in cross country and track from 1968-82 and was best known for founding and coaching Ferris cross country, leading his teams to a 77-17 dual meet mark and four Great Lakes Conference titles.
This year (2019) marked the 44th-straight (45th overall) running of the Bulldog Invitational and either a men's or women's collegiate event has been held each year since 1976. The first men's race was held in 1971 before being discontinued and restarted in 1976. Ferris did not participate in men's cross country from 1994-98. The women's invitational has been held every year since the program began in 1980. Saturday's run was the 40th consecutive women's race.
The Bulldogs will return to action on Friday, Sept. 13, as they take part in the annual Michigan State Spartan Invitational to be held in East Lansing, Mich.
Visit this link for complete results from both races:
Men's Results
Women's Results