ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis claimed their fourth Women’s Cross Country Championship in a row and seventh overall at the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Women's Cross Country Champions Saturday, Oct. 25 on the Lewis Cross Country Course in Romeoville, Illinois.
The tenth-ranked Flyers claimed their seventh league title thanks to seven runners finishing in the top 20, with their 40 points besting second-place Southwest Baptist University by 24 points.
Southwest Baptist accumulated 64 points, besting third-place Illinois Springfield that scored 97 points for third. Maryville (108) and Truman State (123) rounded out the top five. Drury and its 133 points was good for sixth place with Indianapolis behind the Panthers in seventh with 186 points.
Rounding out the rest of the field was Rockhurst (249), Quincy (280), Missouri S&T(301), Lincoln (325), Missouri-St. Louis (363), McKendree (363), and Upper Iowa University (418).
Individually, Illinois Springfield senior Maddie Miller-Ross crossed the line first in a 6,000-meter time of 21:35.04 to become the first Prairie Star to be crowned champion.
Mary Edwards (21;38.62), and Josephine Bober (21:39.76) for Lewis rounded out the top-three. Drury’s Cera Eckenroth (21:48.73), Indianapolis’s Hailey Orosz (21:50.180), Southwest Baptist’s Gracie Troester (21:54.53), and Olivia Littleton (21:57.63) make up fifth through eighth. Madilyn Calloway (22:04.43) from Lewis, Ilene Limberg (22:07.07) from Maryville, and Kate Guderjan (22:10.11) of Lewis round out the top-10.
Eleventh through twentieth, who all earn All-GLVC Honors, were Lyric Ford from Maryville, Kaliegh Inniss from UIS, Josie Diffendaffer from Drury, Mallorie Metzger from Maryville, Kiersten Potter from SBU, Lily Hunsucker from SBU, Louisa Wilson from Lewis, Katie Melzer from Lewis, Megan Garrett from Lewis, and Natalie Gerdes from SBU,.
At the conclusion of the GLVC Championship, Miller-Ross was named GLVC Runner of the Year, the first time a Prairie Star has earned the honor, while Gracie Troester of Southwest Baptist was named GLVC Freshman of the Year as the league's top newcomer. Troester is just the third Bearcats runner to win the honor after Tessa Valdvia was the first in 2019 and Natlie Gerdes was named the honor in 2024. Lewis head coach James Kearney was honored by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year for his fourth-straight accolade on the women's side, which is the ninth 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 fifth 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.
2025 GLVC POSTSEASON AWARDS
GLVC CHAMPION/RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Maddie Miller-Ross, Illinois Springfield
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Gracie Troester, Southwest Baptist
COACH OF THE YEAR: James Kearney, Lewis
ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES (in order of top-20 finish)
Maddie Miller-Ross, UIS
Mary Edwards, LEWIS
Josephine Bober, LEWIS
Cera Eckenroth, DU
Hailey Orosz, UINDY
Gracie Troester, SBU
Olivia Littleton, SBU
Madilyn Calloway, LEWIS
Ilene Limberg, MU
Kate Guderjan, LEWIS
Lyric Ford, MU
Kaliegh Inniss, UIS
Josie Diffendaffer, DU
Mallorie Metzger, MU
Kiersten Potter, SBU
Lily Hunsucker, SBU
Louisa Wilson, LEWIS
Katie Melzer, LEWIS
Megan Garrett, LEWIS
Natalie Gerdes, SBU
2025 GLVC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES
Georgi Carolus, DU
Marissa Roggensack, UIS
Emma Gaston, UINDY
Katie Melzer, LEWIS
Hannah Fatade, LIN
Fatimah Almamori, MU
Chloe Gough, MCK
Kristen Ely, S&T
Hannah Richardson, UMSL
Alexis Fonseca, QU
Alexis Borum, RU
Ella Ritchie, SBU
Emma Schultz, TSU
Eryn Sabelka, UIU
2025 GLVC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD WINNER
Illinois Springfield