Nov. 5, 2005

Results

Grand Valley State's women's cross country team captured its fifth straight Great Lakes Regional Championship crown at Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Mich. on Saturday. The Lakers tallied just 29 points, winning the meet by a margin of 81 points over second place Wisconsin-Parkside. All five Lakers who scored points finished in the top nine spots.

Senior Mandi Zemba won the individual title as she finished the 6K course in a time of 20:47.0. Junior Karlie Singleton took fifth place, running a 21:51, while senior Adrian Chouinard placed sixth with a time of 22:04.3. Junior Stacey Kandas ran a 22:18.9 for eighth place and sophomore Laura Aderman posted a time of 22:19.1 as she finished in ninth place.

Sophomore Lauren Bader ran a 22:30.1 for 13th place and sophomore Ashley Wharton placed 18th with a time of 22:41.8.

Zemba, Singleton, Chouinard, Kandas, Aderman, and Bader all earned Great Lakes All-Region honors for finishing in the top 15 spots. Grand Valley State, Wisconsin-Parkside, Southern Indiana, and Northern Michigan all earned bids to the NCAA National Championships. Jennifer Irwin of Ferris State and Meghan Crowe of Bellarmine also qualified as individuals.

The Lakers qualified for the Division II NCAA National Championships for the fifth straight time. In their previous five appearances, Grand Valley State has placed in the top five. GVSU finished fourth last season, third in 2002 and 2003 and fifth in 1999 and 2001.

"Mandi Zemba opened up a large lead over the second half of the race on her way to a school record performance," said head coach Jerry Baltes. "This was a great team effort for us today as we got out a little quicker than we planned and had to be very tough in the second half of the race."

"The ladies did a great job of staying focused and hanging onto their positions over the 1,000 meters," added Baltes.

"We will be ready and focused as we prepare to race our best race of the year in two weeks at the National Championships," said Baltes.