is Outrunning His Competition and Leading the Yellow Jackets
by Adam Fabrizi, Sports Information Student Assistant
BEREA, OHIO -- When most varsity athletic coaches are preparing for the long haul of a season, they look to their upperclassmen and especially their seniors to help lead the team. This is true in most cases, but not this year at Baldwin-Wallace College and with men’s cross country team and Head Coach Bill Taraschke.
Taraschke’s runners are experiencing a successful season, due in large part to freshman standout Chris Buhoveckey, a native of Brunswick who attended Padua High School in Parma.
Through the first six meets of the 2003 campaign, Buhoveckey and the Yellow Jacket men have finished anywhere from tied for first at the Bowling Green Mel Brodt Invitational on September 13th to 11th at the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships at Ohio Wesleyan University last weekend.
"The season has been going pretty well for the team," said Buhoveckey. We have been near the top or on top of the Division III competition at the past few meets. I think that we are better this year than some people thought we would be. I also feel that we will surprise a few people with our team by the end of the year.
"Personally, the season has been going better than I anticipated," said Buhovecky, who is still undecided about his major field of study at B-W. "I never thought that I would be finishing in the top 10 at races my freshman year."
So far, he has finished as the top B-W male runner at each of the six meets. At the Hanover Invitational (Sept. 6), he finished 42nd of 172 runners with a time of 27:47. At the BGSU Mel Brodt Invitational (Sept. 13), he finished third of 28 Division III runners and 25th of 113 Division I, II, III and NAIA competitors overall. The following weekend, he placed fifth at the Indiana University (Pa.) Invitational on Sept. 20. His success continued when he placed sixth of 72 runners at the Otterbein Invitational (Sept. 27) in 27:50. Buhoveckey's personal-best race occurred on October 4 at the Ohio University Invitational. At that meet, he placed ninth individually with a top time of 26:36. This past weekend at the All-Ohio Meet, Buhoveckey placed 13th of 127 runners in Division III with a time of 27:43.
To say the least, Yellow Jacket Head Coach Bill Taraschke has been extremely pleased with Buhoveckey’s performance.
"Chris is our number one runner," said Taraschke who is in his 18th year of coaching and teaching at the College. "You rarely find a freshman leading a college team. Chris is the exception and there are reasons why he is our best runner.
"Chris has done a great job at each and every meet," said Taraschke, who hopes to build his men's program into the perennial OAC champion that the Yellow Jacket women's program has become. "Chris works very hard to improve at every practice. He has a great work ethic and that is important. His times indicate that he will be a firm foundation for our team for the next four years."
At the same time, Buhoveckey has enjoyed running for Taraschke and is pleased with his decision to attend B-W.
"Running for Coach Taraschke has been great," said Buhoveckey. "Coach has helped me to develop something that I have never had in a cross country race before -- a kick at the end of the race.
Coach Taraschke also inspires the team to go out and give it all we have every day, whether it is in practice or at a meet," continued Buhoveckey. "I chose to attend B-W because it is close to my home and this allowed me to save some money by commuting (living at home). I also decided to come here because of B-W’s reputation for being a good school. I am really happy with my choice. The people and professors here on campus are really nice and inviting.
"I am also happy with my decision because I was leaving a team where I was comfortable and came onto a team not knowing what to expect," said Buhoveckey. "After just a few months with this team, I would not trade them for anything in the world. In high school, I was on a "team" . Here at B-W, it is more like being a member of a family."
While at Padua, Buhoveckey ran four years of track and cross country and earned four varsity letters in each sport. In cross country, he was a four-time All-North Coast League runner and a state qualifier. In track, he was the 2002 Mr. Padua Bruin and a regional qualifier. His best track times were 9:43 in the 3,200-meter run, 4:38 in the 1600 meters and 2:02 in the 800 meters. He also competed in the 5K with his best time being 16:07. Despite continuing his success from the high school level to the collegiate stage, Buhoveckey has noticed a few distinct differences between the two levels.
"I think the biggest and most obvious adjustment that I had to make was going from a 3.1-mile race in high school to a five-mile race in college," stated Buhoveckey. "The competition is also a lot more intense in college, and every team has a number of great runners. It is a great challenge each week."
"Chris has met the challenge week-in-and-week-out," stated Taraschke. "He has run with the best and that is both a compliment to Chris and the challenge for him for the future. As he gets older and better, Chris knows that he will have the talent and ability to be an individual champion."
Even though Buhoveckey is the top runner on the squad, the entire team is enjoying a freshmen class loaded with talent and potential.
"We have some solid seniors who have been excellent leaders," said Taraschke. "The freshmen are talented but inexperienced. We have run well above our experience level all year, and I could not be more pleased with their effort. If we continue to improve, I feel that we can be a top-three team at the OAC Championships this year."
With only a few weeks left in the 2003 season, the entire team is gearing up to finish the year strong. For Buhoveckey, he is also trying to enjoy his time left with the seniors on the team.
"Our team goals for the rest of the season include us having a good showing at the OAC Meet in a few weeks and to improve our pack by dropping our times and closing the gaps between each other," said Buhoveckey. "My personal goals for the rest of the season are to savor the time I have with the seniors on the team because I respect them a lot and have grown attached to them. I also want to keep improving and dropping time throughout the rest of the season."
He is also quick to point out that he owes a great deal of his success to his coaches. At the same time, his teammates are one of the main factors for his accomplishments.
"I attribute my success mostly to my coaches," said Buhoveckey. I'd like to thank Coach Johnson at Padua for doing a great job of preparing me to be a successful runner at the collegiate level . And, I'd like to thank Coach Taraschke for molding me into a good college runner.
"I also owe much of my success to my teammates," continued Buhoveckey. "I view cross country as a team sport, and without the team, I would be nowhere. We help each other through the good and the bad times. That is where the family atmosphere was created. We all support each other through the good and bad."
Taraschke is thankful that he has such a great group of guys on his team. With Chris Buhoveckey helping to lead the way, the Yellow Jacket cross country program is looking forward to great things in the future.
"Chris gives us a great number one runner who we can build the future of the program around," said Taraschke. "There are a number of freshmen who have the talent and ability to reach his level of success. That is where Chris' leadership and work ethic can rub off on them. In three years, all of the good things that Chris is saying about this year's seniors, our incoming freshmen will be saying about him. Chris is just a joy to work with and is truly a leader on our team as a freshman."
275 Eastland Rd.