EVASNVILLE. Ind. – Both University of Southern Indiana cross country programs climbed in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 25 rankings after taking both team titles at the GLVC Championships. The men surged three positions to No. 7, while the women moved a single spot to No. 6.
Seven All-GLVC runners at the conference championships sealed the men’s 12th-consecutive GLVC championship and 24th overall, the most of any sport in GLVC history. Junior Bastian Grau (Höchstadt, Germany) paced the Screaming Eagles with a runner-up performance, while senior Chase Broughton(Marengo, Indiana) also earned a top-five finish placing fourth. Freshman Nathan Hall (Springfield, Missouri) earned GLVC Freshman of the year honors with a 13th-place finish, the eighth time and second-straight year a USI runner has earned the award.
With seven of 10 schools shifting position in the USTFCCCA Top 10, the Eagles move into seventh after gaining 18 more points in the poll. Colorado School of Mines jumped to the top spot of the poll, while Midwest Region foe Grand Valley State University remained in second.
In the Midwest Region, the top two spots remain unchanged with Grand Valley State and USI atop the list. The following five places all shifted after the conference championships week.
Improving by a single spot in the USTFCCCA Top 25 and Midwest Region rankings, the USI women’s cross country team jumped Cedarville University in both polls. In the national poll, USI sits five points outside the top five in sixth with 161 points. Grand Valley State continues to lead the region poll with a second place ranking in the USTFCCCA Top 25.
Junior Emily Roberts (Fredericktown, Ohio) earned the first GLVC Runner of the Year award for the USI women’s program since 2011 to help the Eagles win their sixth-straight GLVC championship. The time of 20 minutes, 36.03 seconds for Roberts set a new GLVC record, as did the USI margin of victory (55 points). Senior Jessica Reeves (Midland, Michigan) earned a second place finish, while three others joined the duo on the All-GLVC team.
USI returns to action November 5 when it hosts the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Championships at Angel Mounds.
