Eagle Runners Place Fourth, Fifth at GLIAC Meet
October 25, 2003

Big Rapids, MI, proved to have some rough rapids on Saturday (Oct. 25) at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men’s and women’s cross country championships. That was true even though these championships were held entirely on land.

The AU men placed fourth out of 12 teams and the AU women were fifth in a 13-team field. On the men’s side, defending champ Grand Valley State won with 35 points. Second place went to Wayne State (60). Hillsdale (61) was third and Ashland claimed fourth (88).

The women’s team trophy also went to Grand Valley State. The Lakers had 27 points and that easily outdistanced second place Northern Michigan (96). Ashland had 130 points.

For the men, junior Nate Iler turned in the best finish on the 8K course. He crossed the tape in 25:10.8. Wayne State’s Nick Allen won in 25:01.2 and Mark Terpstra of Grand Valley State was second (25:08.6). AU senior Joe Soehnlen was 17th in 25:43.9 and senior Andy Alexander was 19th in 25:51.9.

Sophomore Lisa Nell paced the AU women. She was 14th, finishing the 5K in 22:40.9. Senior Erika Loomis placed 18th in 22:50.6. Grand Valley State runners claimed the top three spots in the race. First place went to Natalie Ewing, whose winning time was 21:46.2. Kara Egan was second in 21:53.4.

Both Ashland University teams will compete at the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Championship Meet in two weeks. Grand Valley State will be the host for the regional meet.