Great Midwest Men's XC Records
Great Midwest Women's XC Records
INDIANAPOLIS – A sport that has made tremendous strides in five years will only continue to grow its storied history with the Great Midwest Athletic Conference expansion in men’s and women’s cross country.
Whether it’s the 5K, 6K, 8K, 10K, or four-mile distances, times are continually being toppled and records books needing constant updates.
All 13 schools on the women’s side and all possible 12 on the men’s side will meet at this year’s Great Midwest Championships in Nashville, Tenn., where Trevecca Nazarene will serve as the host institution.
Every year, the question becomes can anyone beat Cedarville? And so far, the answer for five straight years has been no.
The Yellow Jackets have dominated the conference cross country championships at different venues and are primed to also host the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional this season at their Elvin R. King course.
Men
Forst the most part, the men’s 8K times stood up to the test of time for the most part in 2016 as two of the top-25 standards were beaten. Davis & Elkins sophomore David Magda anchors a young and rapidly improving Senators’ program and his 25:10.40 recorded at the Queens Invitational was the best time in the league last season for the 8K distance.
Cedarville national outdoor track and field 3K steeplechase champion Daniel Michalski left his legacy in the 5K with a new conference record of 15:19.90 and now owns a share of three of the best top-25 8K times.
Michalski, now a senior, just continues to get better and better as his career has progressed.
Cedarville had to fend off a strong run from 2016 league newcomer Malone as the Pioneers finished runner-up in their hosted conference championship behind G-MAC Runner of the Year George McCartney and G-MAC Freshman of the Year Mike Jankowski.
McCartney was the top G-MAC finisher in the 2016 Midwest Regional, securing the sixth-best conference time in the process.
Looking at the incoming Great Midwest schools, Hillsdale and Walsh both finished third and fourth at last year’s GLIAC Cross Country Championships hosted by Ferris State. Hillsdale possesses NCAA All-American Anthony Wondaal and reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year Joseph Humes.
Walsh senior Mark Hadley was a top-five finisher at the GLIAC meet with a time that would rank in the top 15. Wondaal, junior Jonathan Allen of Findlay and Lake Erie junior Jordan Pritchard also earned all-conference accolades in the GLIAC last season.
Women
The women’s top times went through a significant overhaul with 16 of the previous top-25 marks in the 6K distance being displaced.
Cedarville finished 11th at the NCAA DII Championships in Saint Leo, Fla., an amazing achievement with a strong core of accomplished young ladies. Olivia Esbenshade, the 2016 G-MAC Runner of the Year, has graduated along with Hailey Blackwell, who both have top-10 career conference times.
Now a senior, Yellow Jackets’ phenom Carsyn Koch looks to lead a young returning contingent that includes sophomores Kayla Casaletto and Olivia Kundo and seniors Christy Jesson and Alaina Spears.
At the 2016 Midwest Regional, the Yellow Jackets took down two all-time conference records (best team time, best individual time – Koch).
Like the men, Malone’s women made a strong impression as conference runner-up. The Pioneers are anchored by a core of first-team all-conference runners Hannah Campbell (senior) and G-MAC Freshman of the Year Rachel Wentworth. Senior Laura Tweedie and junior Hannah Thompson also ran to second-team all-conference honors.
Trevecca Nazarene’s 2014 and 2015 G-MAC Runner of the Year Caroline Hampton has battled through injuries but hopefully will be at full strength for her junior season this fall. Combined with good health and the comfort of running on her home course, she is one to watch at the conference meet. Fellow junior Danielle March was an all-conference performer in 2016.
In the final USTFCCCA Poll of 2016, Cedarville was No. 8 and first-year league member Hillsdale was close behind at No. 11. Malone had been ranked at No. 18 in the previous week.
Hillsdale was the GLIAC’s top-finishing first-year Great Midwest program and the Chargers are perceived as a legitimate threat to end Cedarville’s five-year run at the top of the league. The Chargers also ran to a 17th-place team finish in last year’s NCAA Championships. Senior Hannah McIntyre ran at 21:46.00 to finish runner-up at the GLIAC Meet.
Walsh senior Tori Reeves joined her on the first-team all-conference list while Hillsdale junior Allysen Eads earned second-team accolades in the GLIAC.