The Ashland University men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships Saturday (Nov. 8) at the Seneca Hills Golf Course in Tiffin, Ohio.
The Eagle men came away in third place overall, while the women finished seventh.
AU's Nick Hall dominated the eight-kilometer course, winning the event in 23:58.9. He was the only athlete to complete the course in less than 24 minutes. Grand Valley State's Alan Peterson finished second in a time of 24:01.2.
Eagle Brian Baum came across the line in fifth place, cementing two AU runners in the top five, with a time of 24:09.9. David Knack (15th), Isaac Potes (19th) and Drew Windle (29th) rounded out the field of scoring for the Eagles.
Grand Valley State won the men's GLIAC championship with a total of 33 points. Malone finished in second place, scoring 67 points and narrowly beating Ashland (68). Hillsdale and Michigan Tech rounded out the top five team finishers.
On the women's side, Grand Valley State also took home the hardware, finishing with just 21 points. They claimed the first four spots in finishing order and beat Hillsdale, which finished in second with a score of 61 points. AU compiled 201 points and finished in seventh place.
The Eagles' top finisher was Jillian Bajaksouzian, who claimed 33rd place overall in a time of 22:13.1. Junior Kylee Bernthisel came across the line in 22:25.7, good enough for 41st place. Rounding out the scorers for the Eagles were Mikaela Bush (45th), Marissa Sinko (46th) and Taylor Cropper (50th).
The top time belonged to Grand Valley State's Kendra Foley, who finished first in a time of 20:31.8.
The Eagles' cross country teams will next compete at the Midwest Regional Championships on November 22nd. The championships are in Evansville, Indiana.
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