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.