 "Photo: Rick Cummins")
Cross Country
At the GLIAC Championship in Sault Ste. Marie on Oct. 24, the Wayne State men’s and women’s cross country teams both took second place, finishing behind Grand Valley State.
Rachelle Malette successfully defended her first-place victory at last season’s championship, finishing with a time of 21:48.8.
Lauren Kessler and Kristi Werner were the next-best finishers for WSU, placing 11th and 12th, respectively.
On the men’s side, Abdullah Saleh (fourth) and Dan Kapadia (fifth) led the Warriors, while Sam Breen took eighth.
“I think I did pretty well,” Saleh said, “with the exception of a few minor mistakes in the race. I was pretty happy with my performance.”
The next race for Wayne State is Nov. 8 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Big Rapids at 11 a.m.
Malette looks to defend another title in the race, while Saleh will look to better his sixth-place finish from the past two years.
“I’m confident in the training that I’ve been doing,” Saleh said. “I think I’m the most fit and a lot stronger than I was last year.
“It’s a race that I’ve been looking forward to all year long.”
Swimming
The men’s and women’s swimming teams opened up the 2008-2009 season by competing in the Oakland University Quadrangular on Oct. 25. The women placed behind all three teams, while the men finished third.
Sean Smith won the men’s 100 backstroke with a time of 50.33 and placed second in the 200-yard backstroke (1:50.97).
Fernando Costa had a pair of second-place finishes (9:31.15 in the men’s 1000 freestyle and 4:30.78 in the 500 freestyle).
Elaina Hogle placed second in the women’s 200 butterfly with a time of 2:08.33.
Ashley St. Andrew came in third in the women’s 1000 freestyle with a time of 10:37.46.
The Warriors next meet is scheduled for Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in Indianapolis.
Tennis
At the GLIAC Championship tournament in Midland, the women’s tennis team suffered a second-round defeat at the hands of No.1-seeded Northwood.
WSU, ranked No. 4 in the conference, cruised to a 5-2 victory over Ferris State in the opening round.
The Timberwolves, however, provided much stiffer competition, as it knocked WSU out of the winner’s bracket in the tournament, 5-1.
The lone win came from the doubles team of Sharon Gill and Milena Vuksanovic.
Volleyball
In the lone match of the weekend, Wayne State suffered a 3-0 loss to Northwood in a battle of GLIAC South Division first-place teams.
Lauren Mallast led the Warriors with nine kills and Katy Westenberg had 25 assists.
WSU returns home for the final time in the 2008 season, hosting Tiffin and Ashland on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, respectively.
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