UIndy Wins First GLVC Women’s Cross Country Championship Since 1992
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Indianapolis earned its second overall and first Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Cross Country Championship since 1992 on Saturday at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.
UIndy’s five scorers posted top-20 finishes, including three that garnered All-Conference distinction. The win earned third-year head coach Brad Robinson GLVC Coach of the Year honors – the first for the program since Tom Hathaway was recognized by his peers following the school’s first title in 1992.
The Greyhounds weren’t the only team to shine Saturday as the top-four finishers earned their best finishes at the Conference meet. Truman State University (103 points) finished second overall, followed by Drury University (114) and Missouri S&T (129) in third and fourth, respectively.
University of Southern Indiana, the seven-time defending champion and the winner of a GLVC record 12 titles, placed fifth with 131 points. Lewis University (148), University of Illinois Springfield (184), host Bellarmine University (202), McKendree University (202) and Maryville University (205) rounded out the top 10. Rockhurst University (207), William Jewell College (343) and Quincy University (383) placed 11th through 13th, respectively.
Individually, Drury freshman Claire McCune crossed the line first with a new school-record 6,000-meter time of 21 minutes, 14.92 seconds. Last year’s GLVC Runner and Freshman of the Year picked up her second top honor from the Conference after breaking the previous school record by 13 seconds with an eight-second victory over runner-up Karly Gawarecki of Bellarmine (21:22.36). With the win, McCune becomes the ninth runner to repeat as GLVC Champion.
UIndy sophomore Lauren Bailey (21:35.31) was third, Illinois Springfield newcomer and GLVC Freshman of the Year Taryn Christy (21:53.07) was fourth, and USI sophomore Jennifer Comastri (22:01.51) was fifth. Lewis junior Abby Tripp (22:13.20), Truman sophomore Gemma Saathoff (22:22.42) and UIndy senior Mickayla Wenzel (22:36.85) finished sixth through eighth, while McKendree senior Quincy McSweeney (22:41.95) and USI freshman Hayley Barker (22:50.83) were ninth and 10th. Rounding out the top 15 with All-Conference distinction were Missouri S&T freshman Emily Griesenauer (22:52.95), Drury freshman Katie McCune (22:57.50), Missouri S&T junior Kennedy Duffy (22:58.82), Drury freshman Ia Vidal (23:05.31) and UIndy senior Briana Leonard (23:07.04).
At the conclusion of the GLVC Championship, McCune, Christy and Robinson were honored with the major postseason awards, while Bellarmine earned its fourth GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award in women’s cross country, having previously been honored in 2009, 2010 and 2017. In addition, 13 student-athletes were recognized as GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honorees and are now candidates for their respective school’s male and female Spalding Sportsmanship Award at the end of the academic year.
Coverage of the 2018 GLVC Cross Country Championships will be shown on the GLVC Sports Network on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on GLVCSN.com, GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile apps, as well as GLVCSN OTT platforms on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV.
2018 GLVC POSTSEASON AWARDS
GLVC Champion/Runner of the Year
Claire McCune, Drury
Freshman of the Year
Taryn Christy, Illinois Springfield
Coach of the Year
Brad Robinson, Indianapolis
James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award
Bellarmine
James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Neville Wintergerst-Burch, Bellarmine
Nina Eigenblut, Drury
Claire Eaton, Illinois Springfield
Sarah Burch, Indianapolis
Gaby Sanchez, Lewis
Megan Seibel, Maryville
Peyton Ali, McKendree
Tori Bonnot, Missouri S&T
Ashton Leslie, Quincy
Corynn Yarkosky, Rockhurst
Miranda Coats, Southern Indiana
Kim Kaster, Truman State
Annelise D’Annibale, William Jewell
