The University of Illinois Springfield men's cross country team had a top-three finish at the GLVC Championships for the second straight season. The Prairie Stars finished third on Saturday in Elsah, Ill., and earned the first individual GLVC Championship in program history.
 
UIS had three runners earn all-GLVC honors, led by Blake Jones who won the race in a time of 24:41.30 (see story here). It was the third all-conference award in cross country for Jones. Another Prairie Star runner, Tyler Pasley, also won his third honor. Pasley finished fourth with a time of 25:12. Cort Ross was the second-fastest freshman at the GLVC Championships. He came in eighth with a time of 25:24.
 
Rounding out the team's scoring was Spencer Mauch who came in 22nd with a time of 26:09.00, and Ryan Jones who was 35th with a mark of 26:31. Other finishers in the top-50 were Thomas Wuchte (26:41), Cayden Kirkham (26:52), and Layne Hill (26:56).
 
In the team standings, UIS finished third overall with 69 points. Lewis won the championship with 51 points, six more than Southern Indiana. Indianapolis was fourth with 83 points, and the other four teams in the "A" race were farther back in the points.

Pasley was announced after the event as the team's honoree for the James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award. The Prairie Stars were also voted by the league coaches as the James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award winner. It is the third time since 2015 that the UIS men's cross country team has earned that honor. 
 
The 2020 GLVC Championships concludes the shortened fall season for the UIS men's cross country team.