Sept. 20, 2004

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Contact: David Barry

SETTING THE SCENE: The Vikings travel to Toledo to compete in the Ohio Invitational this weekend. It will be the third race of the season for the Vikings, who have yet to run with a full slate of runners.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State has not place in either of the the first two meets of the season, as the team was forced to run without a full team of competitors because of an injury to junior Jennifer Ricica. Her absence forced Cleveland State to run with just four runners, eliminating them from placing in the either team competition. Senior Julene Nickoloff recorded the best time for the Vikings with a 22:05 over the 5,000 meter course to place 61st at the Mel Brodt, and she came back to run a 22:44 this past weekendto place a team-best 102nd.

HAD TO GET A COACH: Allison Had, a former standout runner at Arizona State University and a native of northeast Ohio, will take over this season as the head women's cross country coach at Cleveland State University. After graduating from Arizona State in 1998, Had worked for one year as assistant cross country coach and women's athletic recruiter at Scottsdale Community College. In 1999, she moved to Charlotte, N.C. to take over as aquatics director for the central branch of the YMCA, a position she held for two years. Had returned to Northeast Ohio in June of 2000 to become marketing director for the Wild Oats Community Market in Woodmere, Ohio. She began teaching in the fall of 2001 at St. Gregory the Great School in South Euclid, a position she held for two years before moving to S.S. Peter and Paul in 2003. She has competed in five marathons all over the world, and was a standout runner at Kenston High School, Flagler College, and Arizona State. Had also started the Cleveland Triathlon Club, growing it to over 250 current members.

JUST LIKE LAST YEAR: The Vikings will look for the same kind of success they had last year at the Ohio Invitational, when Shariah Pratt finished 20th with a team-best 20:27. The Vikings finished eighth as a team in last year's Invitational.

UP NEXT: The Vikings travel to Athens to run in the Ohio Invitational this Saturday, then will run at the All-Ohio Championships on Saturday, Oct. 8th.