ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University repeated as the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Men's Cross Country Champions on Saturday at the Lewis Cross Country Course in Romeoville, Illinois.
The 16th-ranked Flyers totaled 42 points for their 15th overall league title, as their top-five runners finished in the top 15.
University of Illinois Springfield totaled 53 points for second place – one spot better than its third-place showing in 2020 – while No. 12 University of Southern Indiana was one point behind in third with 54 points. Drury University, while well behind in fourth with 153 points, made a drastic improvement from seventh place a year ago, and was followed by University of Indianapolis in fifth with 184 points to round out the top five.
Missouri S&T (196 points) improved upon its 2020 effort by two positions, finishing sixth, ahead of Southwest Baptist University (203) in seventh, and Maryville University (214) in eighth – which didn't race in 2020 and was 10th in 2019. Lindenwood University (215) and Truman State University (262) were respectively ninth and 10th, while University of Missouri-St. Louis (292) followed in 11th and Rockhurst University (348) claimed 12th. Rounding out the 15-team field was Quincy University (422) and McKendree University (430), as well as William Jewell College that did not score.
Illinois Springfield junior Blake Jones broke the tape first in an 8,000-meter time of 23 minutes, 49.65 seconds – just 3-seconds shy of the GLVC record – to repeat as the individual champion and set a new course record. His time this morning was almost an entire minute faster than his winning effort in 2020. In addition to being named the GLVC Champion, Jones was honored as GLVC Runner of the Year following the race. He is also the 13th runner in Conference history to win multiple cross country titles.
Southern Indiana junior Noah Hufnagel significantly upgraded his performance this year, earning a runner-up finish at 23 minutes, 56.35 seconds compared to his ninth-place effort at last year's event. Reigning GLVC Freshman of the Year, Anthony Farmer was close behind in third with a time of 24 minutes, 00.38 seconds. Fourth and fifth positions were respectively taken up by Lewis senior Dustin Macuiba (24:07.62) and UIS sophomore Cortland Ross (24:11.98), who was eighth a year ago.
USI junior Titus Winders (24:14.11), UIS junior Wyatt McIntyre (24:24.43), and Lindenwood junior Louis Moreau (24:29.08) finished sixth through eighth, respectively, while ninth and 10th went to Maryville sophomore Caleb Pyle (24:29.58) and Lewis senior Garrett White (24:33.16). Lewis senior Zach Fresenko (24:36.68) and USI sophomore Braden Nicholson (24:42.42) went 11-12, while 13th through 15th were taken, respectively, by USI sophomore Mitchell Hopf (24:43.00), Lewis senior Athony Pena (24:45.83), and UIndy sophomore AJ Goecker (24:51.87). Rounding out the top 20 with All-Conference distinction were the following runners: UMSL sophomore Jacob Warner (24:55.69), Lewis junior Daniel Arimi (24:58.02), UIS freshman Christopher Cherry (24:58.67) – the new GLVC Freshman of the Year – and a pair of Drury freshmen in William Kershaw (25:00.51) and Luke Byrne (25:01.66).
At the conclusion of the GLVC Championship, Jones was named GLVC Runner of the Year, while his teammate Cherry was named the league's top newcomer. Lewis head coach James Kearney was honored by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year for his second-straight men's laurel.
After the race, Lewis was honored as the GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award team winner, while 15 student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior were also named as their sport's honoree for the award. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school's two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.
For the second time in league history, the GLVC Championship was carried live on the GLVC Sports Network (GLVCSN). The broadcast can be found in the "On Demand" section on all GLVCSN platforms, including GLVCSN.com, GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile apps, as well as GLVCSN OTT platforms on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV.
2021 GLVC POSTSEASON AWARDS
GLVC Champion/Runner of the Year: Blake Jones, Illinois Springfield
Freshman of the Year: Christopher Cherry, Illinois Springfield
Coach of the Year: James Kearney, Lewis
All-Conference Honorees (in order of top-20 finish)
Blake Jones, Illinois Springfield
Noah Hufnagel, Southern Indiana
Anthony Farmer, Lewis
Dustin Macuiba, Lewis
Cortland Ross, Illinois Springfield
Titus Winders, Southern Indiana
Wyatt McIntyre, Illinois Springfield
Louis Moreau, Lindenwood
Caleb Pyle, Maryville
Garrett White, Lewis
Zach Fresenko, Lewis
Braden Nicholson, Southern Indiana
Mitchell Hopf, Southern Indiana
Athony Pena, Lewis
AJ Goecker, UIndy
Jacob Warner, Missouri-St. Louis
Daniel Arimi, Lewis
Christopher Cherry, Illinois Springfield
William Kershaw, Drury
Luke Byrne, Drury
2021 GLVC Men's Cross Country James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award
Lewis
2021 GLVC Men's Cross Country James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Drury: William Purifoy
Illinois Springfield: Layne Hill
Indianapolis: Will Reid
Lewis: Jake Hinchley
Lindenwood: Luke Talbot
Maryville: Mark Colombo
McKendree: Seth Kasinger
Missouri S&T: Hayes Pateidl
Missouri-St. Louis: Donald Mahoney
Quincy: Timothy Legemet
Rockhurst: Zach Hill
Southern Indiana: Joshua Myers
Southwest Baptist: William O'Keefe
Truman State: Thomas Cormier
William Jewell: Christian Santiago