BOLIVAR, Mo. – Lewis University repeated as Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Women's Cross Country Champions Saturday, Oct. 21 on the Bolivar City Municipal Golf Course in Bolivar, Missouri.
The eighth-ranked Flyers scored 28 points to claim their fifth league title thanks to nine runners finishing in the top 20, besting runner-up Drury University by 39 points.
Drury accumulated 67 points to match its highest finish in the GLVC meet, surpassing last year’s runner-up Southwest Baptist University that scored 97 points for third. Truman State University (121) and University of Illinois Springfield (122) were separated by a single point in fourth and fifth, respectively, while University of Indianapolis and its 175 points was good for sixth place with Missouri S&T behind the Greyhounds in seventh with 191 points. Eighth and ninth were also respectively one point apart, as University of Missouri-St. Louis scored 223 and Maryville University totaled 224.
Rockhurst University (251), McKendree University (344), Upper Iowa University (381), William Jewell College (392), and Quincy University (433) rounded out the field in 10th-14th, respectively.
Individually, Lewis junior Hannah Smrcka crossed the line first in a 6,000-meter time of 21 minutes, 13.23 seconds to become the 14th Flyer to be crowned a GLVC champion but first since Amanda Farrough won in 2015.
Missouri S&T sophomore Emma Puetz earned runner-up distinction in 21 minutes, 45.56 seconds in her first appearance at the Conference event. Drury senior Luz Olivera finished third, clocking a time of 21:48.47 ahead of fourth-place Lewis senior Caroline Pacer-Ryan in 21:50.58 and fifth-place Drury junior Bradley Weimer in 21:51.32.
Lewis senior Anna Kozak (21:56.15) and Drury senior Zoe Van Dijk (22:04.80) were sixth and seventh, respectively, while places eighth through 10th were filled up by Flyers’ sophomore Kate Guderjan (22:07.91), junior Naylah Allen (22:14.03), and sophomore Madilyn Calloway (22:18.45). Illinois Springfield sophomore Maddie Miller (22:20.95) was 11th and Southwest Baptist senior Alexis Barber (22:23.63) placed 12th, while 13th-15th respectively went to Lewis senior Rachael Morrison (22:28.21), SBU senior Tessa Valdivia (22:34.20), and Lewis senior Darby Roth (22:35.53). The next five finishers respectively rounded out the top-20, All-Conference honorees, including Truman junior Lexy Henrikson (22:40.14), Truman junior Addie Mathis (22:41.64), Indianapolis sophomore Hailey Orosz (22:45.54), Lewis senior Juliana Stogsdill (22:46.25), and UIndy senior Mariah Judy (22:52.93).
At the conclusion of the GLVC Championship, Smrcka was named GLVC Runner of the Year, while Lyric Ford of Maryville was named GLVC Freshman of the Year as the league's top newcomer with her 23:10.21 in 25th place. Ford is just the second Saints runner to win the honor after Samantha Hartnett was the first in 2012. Lewis head coach James Kearney was honored by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year for his second-straight accolade on the women's side, which is the seventh time a Lewis mentor has been selected.
After the race, 14 student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior were also named as their sport's GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honoree. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school's two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.
For the fourth time in league history, the GLVC Championship was carried live on the GLVC Sports Network (GLVCSN). The broadcast can be found in the "On Demand" section on all GLVCSN platforms, including GLVCSN.com, GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile apps, as well as GLVCSN OTT platforms on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV.
2023 GLVC POSTSEASON AWARDS
GLVC CHAMPION/RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Hannah Smrcka, Lewis
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Lyric Ford, Maryville
COACH OF THE YEAR: James Kearney, Lewis
ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES (in order of top-20 finish)
Hannah Smrcka, LEWIS
Emma Puetz, S&T
Luz Olivera, DU
Caroline Pacer-Ryan, LEWIS
Bradley Weimer, DU
Anna Kozak, LEWIS
Zoe Van Dijk, DU
Kate Guderjan, LEWIS
Naylah Allen, LEWIS
Madilyn Calloway, LEWIS
Maddie Miller, UIS
Alexis Barber, SBU
Rachael Morrison, LEWIS
Tessa Valdivia, SBU
Darby Roth, LEWIS
Lexy Henrikson, TSU
Addie Mathis, TSU
Hailey Orosz, UINDY
Juliana Stogsdill, LEWIS
Mariah Judy, UINDY
2023 GLVC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES
Bradley Weimer, DU
Kali Gaden, UIS
Mariah Judy, UINDY
Abbey Kozak, LEWIS
Abby Stone, MU
Colleen Zinke, MCK
Kelly Zipfel, S&T
Zoey Losch, UMSL
Katie Park, QU
Sarah Matt, RU
Mercy Dement, SBU
Bre Mathes, TSU
Jadyn Schultz, UIU
Aubrey Harris, WJC
2023 GLVC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD WINNER
Southwest Baptist