RESULTS: TEAM: HTML/PDF | INDIVIDUAL: HTML
INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Southern Indiana men’s cross country team captured its league-record 10th consecutive Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Cross Country Championship on Saturday at the Lewis University Cross Country Course in Romeoville, Illinois. The Screaming Eagles scored 30 points in the victory and posted all seven runners among the conference’s top-18 finishers. The University of Wisconsin-Parkside finished second with 52 points, followed by host Lewis in third with 79 markers.
USI is the first team in any sport in the 36-year history of the GLVC to win 10 consecutive conference titles.
Competing with the second-smallest team in the meet, six-member Saint Joseph’s College placed fourth overall with 144 points, giving the Pumas their best finish in the conference meet since placing fourth in the eight-team field at the 1986 GLVC Championships. Saint Joseph’s had finished no better than eighth at the league championships over the past 10 years. The captain of the 1986 squad was none other than Bill Massoels, who currently serves as athletics director and head cross country and track and field coach at his alma mater. Massoels’ son, Patrick captained this year’s team, finishing 36th overall, while senior Logan Barrett led the team with a fifth-place result (25:02.31), earning him All-Conference honors.
Fifth-place belonged to the University of Indianapolis (155), while Missouri S&T (188), Truman State University (207), and Drury University (219) placed sixth through eighth, respectively. Bellarmine University (227) and Maryville University tied for ninth overall. McKendree University (280), William Jewell College (390) and Quincy University (405) rounded out the 13-team field.
Southern Indiana also extended its conference record for individual titles as junior Johnnie Guy repeated as the league’s champion, earning GLVC Runner of the Year honors for his efforts. Guy broke the tape in 24 minutes, 13.16 seconds to join elite company of just 11 runners who have won two or more conference crowns. Just 17 seconds behind Guy was a familiar face in teammate Tyler Pence. The senior finishes his conference career at USI as arguably the league’s top runner to have never won the GLVC title. Pence finished third as a freshman in 2011 and was runner-up in each of the last three conference meets. The previous distinction for a non-winning, top-five runner at four GLVC Championships was USI’s Mike Orban, who placed fourth, second, second, and fifth from 1985-88. Pence also finishes his career having never lost to a competitor from another GLVC team, as he was third to Brendan Devine and Michael Jordan in 2011, second to Jordan in 2012, and second twice to Guy in 2013 and 2014.
UW-Parkside’s Evan Lewandowski (24:42.80) and Jake Dubnicka (24:48.65) took home third and fourth, respectively, while Barrett of Saint Joseph’s closed out the top-five. The next five runners included Truman’s Brad Hart (25:03.49), USI’s Hunter Motz (25:10.23), Lewis’ Shawn Milhauser (25:11.58), USI’s Solomon Bennett (25:11.77), and UW-Parkside’s KJ Matuszak (25:20.94). Places 11th through 15th also earned All-GLVC honors. Southern Indiana’s Tyler Schickel (25:21.88) was 11th, Lewis’ James Frederickson (25:24.24) and Michael Leet (25:27.97) were 12th and 13th, respectively, and UIndy’s Joel Keller (25:32.39) and UW-Parkside’s Troy Cunningham (25:35.32) rounded out the All-Conference honorees.
At the conclusion of the GLVC Championship, Lewis’ Deivi Tahiraj was named GLVC Freshman of the Year as he was the highest-placing freshman in the race, finishing 19th in 25:46.00. USI mentor Mike Hillyard was voted by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year, which marked his 10th-straight honor and 13th overall.
Coverage of the 2014 GLVC Cross Country Championships will be shown on the GLVC Sports Network at a time and date to be determined.
2014 GLVC Champion: Southern Indiana
2014 GLVC Runner of the Year: Johnnie Guy, Jr., Southern Indiana
2014 GLVC Freshman of the Year: Deivi Tahiraj, Lewis
2014 GLVC Coach of the Year: Mike Hillyard, Southern Indiana