Oct. 5, 2002

Results

Allendale, Mich. - The Grand Valley State women's cross country team finished second out of 52 teams at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational on Saturday (Oct. 5) in Chicago, Ill. The Lakers ended up with 54 points and finished only behind the University of Missouri, who is ranked 20th in Division I. GVSU had three athletes finish in the top 10, seven finish in the top 21, and all 11 posted personal best times in the 5,000 meter race. Mandi Long led the way for the Lakers as she finished in sixth with a time of 18:02, the second fastest time in Grand Valley history. Grand Valley is ranked #3 in NCAA Division II and first in the Great Lakes Region.

GVSU finished ahead of seven Division I teams and were 45 points ahead of third place Kent State, and 118 points ahead of Loyola, the host school. It was the first race with team results for the Lakers this season.

"I am extremely excited about the way we performed," said head coach Jerry Baltes. "It was a great step in the right direction to get us prepared for the postseason."

Long improved her career best by 25 seconds and her time was second only to Melissa Smith's 18:00 which she did twice. Natalie Ewing was right behind Long, finishing in seventh in 18:03, while Shannon Antvelink took the 10th spot in 18:11. Freshman Kara Egan finished in 14th with a time of 18:14. Jeannette Seckinger ened up in 17th while Krista O'Dell was 22nd with times of 18:21 and 18:32, respectively.

Full Results