KIRKSVILLE, MO – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's cross country team finished 11th during Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championships.
UIS recorded the program's best placing in the GLVC Championships while compiling a team score of 307. The Prairie Stars placed ahead of Quincy University and William Jewell College, marking the first time the Prairie Stars have topped a team in the GLVC Championships standings.
"With our 11th-place finish and 307-point total, we beat our expectations," UIS coach
Mike De Witt said. "Overall, it was a nice step up in our program's third year."
Krissy Finley paced the Prairie Stars with a 22nd-place finish. The senior from Rochester, IL clocked a 6K time of 23 minutes, 31.23 seconds for a season best.
"Krissy ran her best race of the season and one of her better races in her collegiate career."
Kelsey Cleary (25:22.38) crossed the line 87th,
Lexi Yoggerst (25:31.58) earned a 90th-place finish,
Olivia Rohr (25:33.48) claimed 91st and
Gloria Esarco (25:36.74) secured 93rd.
"Our second and fifth runners were only separated by 14 seconds. That is something we have worked hard at accomplishing."
Libby Price (25:44.39) finished 98th,
Savannah Brannan (26:04.94) captured 106th,
Alexandria Quarton (26:22.12) turned in 111th and a season best,
Claire Eaton (26:38.32) took 118th and
Abbie Lemley (26:56.39) placed 129th.
The University of Southern Indiana (USI), which is receiving votes in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II poll, held off Bellarmine University by two points and captured its seventh consecutive conference title. USI scored 36 points to finish ahead of Bellarmine (38), Missouri S&T (85), Truman State University (119), Lewis University (160), Drury University (173), the University of Indianapolis (195), Rockhurst University (217), Maryville University (226), McKendree University (267), UIS (307), Quincy (345) and William Jewell (348), which rounds out the team standings.
Drury freshman Claire McCune raced to first behind a time of 21:55.42. Bellarmine's Erin Crone (22:01.80) earned second. USI teammates Melina Gryschka (22:07.07) and Hope Jones (22:15.28) took third and fourth, respectively. Missouri S&T's Megan Schulte (22:26.93) rounded out the top five.
McCune was named GLVC Runner of the Year and GLVC Freshman of the Year. Drury head coach Angela Musk was selected as the GLVC Coach of the Year.
Finley represented UIS in the James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award.
UIS wraps up the season with the NCAA Midwest Regional on Nov. 4 at 10:30 a.m. (ET) in Cedarville, OH.
