Nov. 19, 2005

Results

Grand Valley State's women's cross country team recorded its best finish in school history, placing second at the NCAA Division II National Championships hosted by by California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Senior Mandi Zemba won the schools first-ever cross country individual National Championship title, finishing first in a time of 21:01.7.

The Lakers finished with 69 points, just 15 points behind first place Adams State. Western State placed third with 154 points, Chico State was fourth with 162, and Colorado School of the Mines rounded out the top five spots with 194.

Sophomore Karlie Singleton placed eighth overall, running a time of 21:34.1, while junior Stacey Kandas ran a 22:10.9 for 19th place. Senior Adrian Chouinard took 24th place as she ran a 22:14.3 and freshman Laura Aderman finished in 39th place, running a 22:37.9 to round out the scoring for the Lakers.

Freshman Kelly Gibbons posted a time of 23:49.4 for 84th place.

"I am extremely proud of the way the women ran today," said head coach Jerry Baltes. "Mandi finished an amazing season with an outstanding performance today and led us to our best finish in school history."

"We had to overcome some obstacles in getting here and the California heat, but the women still managed to have a strong performance," Baltes added.