Nov. 8, 2008

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Complete Results

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Grand Valley State women's cross country team dominated the field at the Midwest Regional Championships in Big Rapids, Mich. on Saturday (Nov. 8) on its way to the eighth straight team title. GVSU had all five runners place in the top-10, led by sophomore Megan Maceratini's second-place tally, and finished well ahead of the competition.

GVSU totaled a team score of 35 points, while Wayne State came in second with 90 points. Ferris State finished third with 111, just ahead of fourth-place Southern Indiana with a score of 113. Northwood rounded out the top-five with 176 points.

Grand Valley State, Wayne State, and Ferris State all advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships in Slippery Rock, Pa. on Nov. 22.

Maceratini, who finished in third place at the GLIAC Championships, finished the 6K course in 21:31. She crossed the line behind Rachelle Malette (21:19) of Wayne State, who finished fourth at the national championships in 2007. Maceratini was a little more than a second faster than UW-Parkside's Jessica Monson (21:33), who was 14th at last year's national meet.

Sophomore Amy Kolin finished in sixth place with a time of 22:14, while three Lakers rounded out the top-10. Senior Sarah Kulczycki was eighth at 22:20, sophomore Rebecca Winchester finished ninth at 22:27, and sophomore Katherine McCarthy placed 10th with a time of 22:30.

Not placing for Grand Valley State, but running well were senior Kelly Gibbons (11th place, 22:31) and junior Eileen Cruetz (16th, 22:52).

GVSU recorded an average time of 22:12, which was 38 seconds faster than second-place Wayne State.

Head coach Jerry Baltes was very pleased with the way the Lakers ran on Saturday. "It was a great team effort for our women's team, up and down the board," said Baltes. "They ran a very tough race in less than ideal conditions, with mud and rain on the course. We are excited to compete at the national championships in Slippery Rock in two weeks."