University of Southern Indiana Cross Country is set to host the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships Saturday at Angel Mounds. The women’s six-kilometer race begins at 10:30 a.m., while the men’s 8k follows at 11:30 a.m.
Tickets for Saturday’s races can be purchased at the event and will be cash only. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students and free for children ages five-and-under.
Eagles hosting GLVC meet. USI is hosting the GLVC Championships for the first time since 2011 and fourth time in program history. The Eagles have previously hosted the conference meet in 1982, 2000 and 2011.
Angel Mounds. Saturday’s race marks the first time Angel Mounds has served as the host course for the event. Angel Mounds has been the host course to several NCAA II Midwest Region Championship meets as well as the 2016 NCAA II National Championships.
In the rankings. USI’s men continue to be ranked No. 8, nationally, while the women’s squad dropped nine spots to No. 22 in the latest poll. The Eagles are the only GLVC team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) Top 25 men’s poll, while USI’s women are one of two league schools in this week’s ranking. GLVC-newcomer Southwest Baptist University is ranked No. 11 in the women’s poll, while the University of Illinois Springfield is receiving votes outside the Top 25 of the men’s poll.
Last time out. The Eagles’ men finished fourth out of 34 teams at the Lewis University Crossover on October 12, while USI’s women were sixth out of 36 teams. Sophomore Titus Winders was fourth out of 423 competitors to lead the men, while junior Jennifer Comastri was fifth out of 403 runners to lead the women.
He did what? Senior Austin Nolan’s 19th-place finish at the Lewis Crossover is, by itself an impressive accomplishment. What was more impressive was the fact that Nolan lost his shoe a mile into the race and his other shoe about a mile later.
Nolan looks for three-peat. Austin Nolan is looking for his third-straight GLVC individual title, something only three runners have accomplished. In fact, there have been only five runners, four men and one woman, who have won three GLVC individual cross country titles. Nolan’s father, Jim, is the only cross country runner in league history to win four GLVC crowns (1980-83).
The Streak. USI’s men are looking to capture its league-record 15th straight GLVC title Saturday and its 16th in the last 17 years—their only loss in the last 17 years was a two-point setback to Lewis in 2004. The Eagles’ 14 straight conference championships and 26 overall are GLVC records for all sports.
USI women look to get back on top. The Eagles’ league-record run of seven straight GLVC women’s titles came to an end in 2018 when USI finished fifth at the conference meet. USI had won nine of the previous 10 championships and a league-record 12 overall prior to last year’s GLVC Championships.
