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Results
EVANSVILLE, Indiana – The University of Southern Indiana earned its record 13th league title at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Cross Country Championship, held Saturday at Angel Mounds in Evansville, Indiana.
One year removed from an uncharacteristic fifth-place finish at the Conference meet, where USI had entered winners of seven straight GLVC crowns, the 22nd-ranked Screaming Eagles held off No. 11 and league newcomer Southwest Baptist University by 12 points to win in heavy rain and windy conditions.
USI totaled 48 points on the day, followed by SBU with 56 points, while defending champion University of Indianapolis was third with 110 points. Rockhurst University improved four positions on its previous program-best finish at the Conference meet with a fourth-place result and 157 points.
Rounding out the top 10 was Missouri S&T (161), University of Illinois Springfield (166), Lewis University (166), Drury University (192), Truman State University (194) and Lindenwood University (235), which joined SBU in its first-ever GLVC Championship. Bellarmine University (255) was 11th, followed by Maryville University (389), McKendree University (398), and Quincy University (451). William Jewell College competed in the 15-team field but did not produce a team score.
Individually, Southwest Baptist sophomore Elysia Burgos crossed the line first in 21 minutes, 05.87 seconds, to become the first Bearcat to be crowned a GLVC champion in the school’s brief history as a member of the league. Additionally, her time marked the fourth-fastest winning time in league history.
UIndy junior Lauren Bailey (21:11.93) improved one position from last year to earn runner-up honors, as did Illinois Springfield sophomore Taryn Christy (21:34.48) – the reigning GLVC Freshman of the Year – with a third-place result. The new GLVC Freshman of the Year, SBU’s Tessa Valdivia (21:38.34), finished fourth overall, while USI junior Jennifer Comastri (21:51.45) matched her fifth-place finish from last year. USI senior Hope Jones (21:55.75), SBU junior Tabitha Weber (22:17.77), and two-time defending GLVC champion and Drury junior Claire McCune (22:25.17) finished sixth through eighth, respectively. USI freshman Presley Warren (22:39.70) and UIS junior Savannah Brannan (22:46.67) were ninth and 10th overall. Rounding out the top 15 with All-Conference distinction were Drury sophomore Katie McCune (22:49.02), Lewis junior Kassady Learn (22:53.36), USI junior Doraine Langlois (22:53.61), Lindenwood sophomore Najwa Chouati (23:07.43), and USI freshman Mckenna Cavanaugh (23:08.22).
At the conclusion of the GLVC Championship, Burgos was named GLVC Runner of the Year, while her teammate Valdivia was named the league’s top newcomer. USI head coach Mike Hillyard was honored by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year, his 12th women’s accolade of his career.
At Friday’s GLVC Championship banquet, Illinois Springfield earned the GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award for women’s cross country, while 15 student-athletes were recognized as GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honorees and are now candidates for their respective school’s female Spalding Sportsmanship Award at the end of the academic year.
Coverage of the 2019 GLVC Cross Country Championships will be shown on the GLVC Sports Network on Sunday, Nov. 3, 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.
2019 GLVC POSTSEASON AWARDS
GLVC Champion/Runner of the Year
Elysia Burgos, Southwest Baptist
Freshman of the Year
Tessa Valdivia, Southwest Baptist
Coach of the Year
Mike Hillyard, Southern Indiana
All-Conference Honorees (in order of top-15 finish)
Elysia Burgos, Southwest Baptist
Lauren Bailey, UIndy
Taryn Christy, Illinois Springfield
Tessa Valdivia, Southwest Baptist
Jennifer Comastri, Southern Indiana
Hope Jones, Southern Indiana
Tabitha Weber, Southwest Baptist
Claire McCune, Drury
Presley Warren, Southern Indiana
Savannah Brannan, Illinois Springfield
Katie McCune, Drury
Kassady Learn, Lewis
Dorian Langlois, Southern Indiana
Najwa Chouati, Lindenwood
Mckenna Cavanaugh, Southern Indiana
James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award
Illinois Springfield
James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Samantha Moore, Bellarmine
Haley Heavner, Drury
Claire Eaton, Illinois Springfield
Madison Vauters, Indianapolis
Camille Cabas, Lewis
Maycee White, Lindenwood
Maddy Neil, Maryville
Shayna Phillips, McKendree
Kennedy Duffy, Missouri S&T
Athena Lesiotis, Quincy
Kathleen Gansner, Rockhurst
Ashley Lawhorn, Southern Indiana
Tabitha Weber, Southwest Baptist
Emily Harl, Truman State
Katie Sliger, William Jewell