BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Junior Athena Welsh mustered a last-minute burst of speed to secure a first-place finish in Friday's Mel Brodt Collegiate Opener hosted by Bowling Green State University. Welsh concluded the 5K event with a time of 17:06.1 over Rachel Walny, a two-time NCAA track qualifier, who had been leading for most of the race.

"I was confident that she was going to win because Athena's a strong finisher," said head coach Linh Nguyen. "She beat someone who has been an NCAA qualifier on the track in the 10K two years in a row and might be the top returner in cross country in our conference this year. She's an outstanding runner, and for Athena to beat her we're pretty happy with that."

The Rockets landed four in the top five for a second week in a row, with sophomore Michelle Hostettler taking third (17:44.2), freshman Claire Steigerwald placing fourth (17:47.0), and senior Jennifer Lichter taking fifth (17:55.1).

One familiar face not racing was senior Petronela Simiuc.

"We didn't race Petronela today just because she's still kind of working herself into shape," said Nguyen. "Next race she'll probably be back in the lineup, which bolsters our top five and hopefully makes us even better."

Following the victory over Bowling Green, the Rockets now have three weeks of training before their season gets into full swing with the All-Ohio Championships in Norton, Ohio on Sept 29.

Mel Brodt Collegiate Opener
Bowling Green, Ohio
Women's 5K

Top 5
1. Athena Welsh – Toledo – 17:06.1
2. Rachel Walny – Bowling Green – 17:06.5
3. Michelle Hostettler – Toledo – 17:44.2
4. Claire Steigerwald – Toledo – 17:47.0
5. Jennifer Lichter – Toledo – 17:55.1 

Toledo
1. Athena Welsh – 17:06.1
3. Michelle Hostettler – 17:44.2
4. Claire Steigerwald – 17:47.0
5. Jennifer Lichter – 17:55.1
6. Olivia Chinn – 18:05.3
8. Stephanie Sherman – 18:16.5
10. Rebecca Snyder – 18:21.5
13. Riley Kwiatkowski – 18:34.0
14. Alyssa Edwards – 18:34.6
15. Amanda Bakley – 18:38.3
17. Hannah Sponaugle – 19:07.7
18. Roma Lucarelli – 19:10.6
19. Jordan Doore – 19:11.6
22. Megan Burmeister – 19:33.5
25. Nichole Foor – 19:44.4
26. Grace Steimle – 19:57.3
27. Morgan Dembowski – 20:00.9
29. Ellie LaPrad – 20:26.4