Grand Valley State University's Megan Maceratini Named GLIAC Women's Cross Country "Athlete of the Year"

Click here for printer-friendly (PDF) version of this release

BAY CITY, Mich. -Grand Valley State University senior Megan Maceratini (Livonia, Mich./Livonia Churchhill) was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) women's cross country "Athlete of the Year" after claiming the individual title at the GLIAC Championships on Saturday (Nov. 6) in Hillsdale, Mich.

GLIAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Megan Maceratini - Grand Valley State University
(SR, Livonia, Mich./Livonia Churchhill)

Grand Valley State’s senior Megan Maceratini was named the GLIAC Athlete of the Year after claiming the individual title at the GLIAC Championships on Saturday (Nov. 6) in Hillsdale, Mich. Her time of 21:19 helped the Lakers earn their tenth straight GLIAC title with a team score of 18 points. The senior was the top finisher for the Lakers at the Michigan State Invitational with a 13th place finish and a time of 21:32 and crossed the finish line 14th at the Greater Louisville Classic on Oct. 2 (17:29).

GLIAC Women’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year
Deedra Irwin - Michigan Tech University
(FR, Pulaski, Wis)

Michigan Tech runner Deedra Irwin became the first Michigan Tech runner (man or woman) to earn GLIAC Freshman of the Year  honors. She finished 23rd at the GLIAC Championships in a time of 22:50 over the six-kilometer course. She posted three wins this season, all coming on courses in the Upper Peninsula. Irwin finished as the top runner for Tech at all seven races this season.

GLIAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
Jerry Baltes - Grand Valley State University
 

Grand Valley State’s head coach Jerry Baltes led the women’s cross country team to its’ tenth consecutive GLIAC championship on Saturday (Nov. 6). The Lakers totaled nine of the 14 runners on the All-GLIAC first and second teams. GVSU claimed the top-two spots and had six runners finish in the top-seven at the GLIAC Championships. Senior Megan Maceratini claimed the top spot and GLIAC Runner of the Year with a time of 21:19.

Ashland - Under the direction of first-year head coach Trent Mack, the AU cross country teams pieced together some solid finishes at the GLIAC Championships, hosted by Hillsdale College on Saturday (Nov. 6) morning. The AU women placed fifth at the meet, finishing with 111 team points, just four off of fourth-place finisher Hillsdale. Ashland’s top finisher in the women’s meet was sophomore Stephanie Stoffel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Glen Este), who timed out at 21:53.7 and finished the meet in eighth place. Junior Mandy Farson (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) and senior Leah Allen (Circleville, Ohio) finished back-to-back in 15th and 16th places, respectively. Farson ran the 6k in 22:32.7, while Allen finished in 22:34.2.  Senior Jessica Daughters (Madison, Ohio) placed 30th at the meet with a time of 23:05.6. Grand Valley State’s Megan Maceratini won the meet with a time of 21:19.8. Six of the top seven finishers in the women’s meet were from Grand Valley.

Ferris State - The Ferris State University women’s cross country team ran to a second-place overall finish in the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships held Saturday (Nov. 6) in Hillsdale, Mich. The Bulldogs tallied 83 points in finishing second behind league champion Grand Valley State’s 18-point total. Ferris State’s women’s team was paced by senior standout Tina Muir, who finished third overall in a time of 21:27.9 on the 6K course at Hillsdale College.  FSU sophomore Alyssa Osika took 18th place (22:36.6) followed by senior Paige Onweller in 20th place (22:41.0) and sophomore Anna Rudd in 22nd place (22:44.4). Ferris freshman Brittany Anderson captured 29th place (23:04.6) and sophomore Shelby Janutol was 44th (23:32.2) overall. Sophomore Felicia Peacock came in 72nd (24:15.5) with freshman Haleigh Przybylek in 77th place (24:31.1) and freshman Jenna Daniels coming in 94th (25:05.6). The NCAA Division II National Championships will also be held in Louisville on Saturday, Dec. 4.

Findlay - The University of Findlay women’s cross country teams wrapped up the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship on Saturday, November 6 in Hillsdale, Michigan. On the women’s side, Rachel Hosie (22:33.9) and Alexa Stults (23:35.2) led the team by placing 45th and 46th, respectively. Brier Sterling (23:38.2), Katherine McHenry (23:42.2), Abigail Magner (23:57.6), Lindsey Schmitmeyer (24:17.7), Catherine Wiemers (24:24.4), Stephanie Charnigo (24:28.2), Erica Goeltzenleuchter (24:36.5) and Christine Zimmermann (25:27.5) also competed for Findlay at the event.


Grand Valley State -  The No. 2 Grand Valley State women’s cross country team continued its dominance in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) by claiming its tenth straight GLIAC Women’s Cross Country Championship on Saturday (Nov. 6) in Hillsdale, Mich. The Laker women recorded a team score of 18 points.  The women had seven runners finish in the top-10 and six finish in the top-seven with a pace time of 21:31. Senior Megan Maceratini led the way for Grand Valley State with claiming the individual title. Her first place time of 21:19.8 earned her GLIAC Women’s Runner of the Year. Senior Katherine McCarthy followed in second with a time of 21:26.2, while Jessie Vickers placed third (21:33.8), Rebecca Winchester fifth (21:37.4), Julia Nowak sixth (21:38.3) and Kylen Cieslak seventh (21:47.9). Maceratini, McCarthy, Vickers, Winchester, Nowak and Cieslak all received First Team All-GLIAC selection. Senior Sarah Dugan crossed the finish line 10th with a time of 22:00.6, while teammate Shaylee Vanderbaan finished 11th (22:06.7) and Karie McDonald 13th (22:20.4). Dugan, Vanderbaan and McDonald all received All-GLAC Second Team honors.

Hillsdale - The new cross country course at Hillsdale College hosted the 2010 GLIAC championships on a frigid Saturday morning. Although the course was new, the final results were not. Both Hillsdale College teams made very respectable showings. The women’s team finished in fourth place with 107 points, slightly ahead of fifth-place Ashland, who had 111. Senior Erin Brunko ran an outstanding race, finishing ninth overall with a time of 22:00.2. Brunko was one of three non-Grand Valley State runners to place in the top 11 overall at the women’s meet. Sophomore Amanda Putt was Hillsdale’s second-best runner, taking 21st overall with a time of 22:43.5. Melissa TenKate took 25th place with a time of 22:57.1. Two places behind TenKate was Francesca Frasier with a time of 23:01.

Lake Erie - The Lake Erie College women placed 13th out of 14th squads as the Storm competed for the first time ever in the GLIAC Championship hosted by Hillsdale University, in Hillsdale Mich. On the women’s side, the top finishers were junior Allison Wright (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) and sophomore Samantha Smith (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) who finished back-to-back in 106th and 107th positions with times of 25:31.2 and 26:13.5.  Lake Erie’s six females averaged a time of 26:27.58 as they were tightly packed together in the 6K race. Other finishes were 110th for sophomore Leah Jones (Maple Heights, Ohio/Maple Heights) in 26:35.8, 111th for freshman Shanita Fluker (Flint, Mich./Flint Southwestern) in 26:44.2, 114th for junior Kyle Herron  (Perry, Ohio/Perry)in 27:13.2 and 125th for senior Rachel Hanzak (Cedar Grove, N.C./Orange) in 30:56.8.

Lake Superior State - The Lake Superior State women’s cross country team placed 14th at the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships held Saturday, Nov. 6th at Hillsdale. Freshman Jamie Wick was 97th overall and 76th among team scorers to lead the LSSU women’s team. She completed the 6K race in 25:09.5. LSSU’s second finisher was Kayla Nowak, who was 105th in 25:30.5. Six GVSU women placed among the top seven as the Lakers won the team title with 18 points. Megan Maceratini placed first in 21:19.8.

Michigan Tech - The Michigan Tech woman’s cross country teams found success amongst a strong field at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships Saturday (Nov. 6). Freshman Deedra Irwin earned freshman of the year honors with a 23rd place showing. She clocked a time of 22:50 over the six-kilometer course. Sophomore Nikki Kiilunen finished second for the Huskies and 35th overall in 23:20. Junior Sydney Bruestle finished 40th (23:26) and sophomore Sarah Daniels was 43rd (23:31). Freshman Marissa Yovetich rounded out the top-five for the Huskies in 49th (23:36). The women’s squad finished seventh out of 14 teams, one point behind Saginaw Valley State.
team title.

Northern Michigan - The Northern Michigan University cross country team finished in 10th place at the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Cross Country Championships.  NMU recorded 256 points. Kristen Schulz led the Wildcats as she finished with a time of 23:25.6 which was good for 39th place.  Nora Kiilunen was next in 48th (23:36.4).  Mandy Dye crossed the finish line with a time of 23:44.3 for 54th.  Christina Turman finished in 66th (24:06.5).  Two spots back was teammate Marie Helen Soderman in 68th (24:09.1).  The next ‘Cat was two seconds back and that was Rita Woitas (24:11.5) in 69th.  Jordyn Ross was 78th (24:32.1) for the ‘Cats.  Olivia Juntila placed 81st with a time of 24:33.9.  She was followed by Jess Krob in 85th (24:43.9).  Freshman Alicia Romano placed 98th with a time of 25:11.9.

Northwood - The Northwood University cross country teams competed at the GLIAC Championships Saturday morning (November 6). This year’s event was hosted by Hillsdale College. On the women’s side, the Timberwolves placed 11th overall with 312 points. Grand Valley State was the overall winner with 18 points, followed by Ferris State at 83. Northwood was led by Lauren Gagnon (Waterford, Mich./Mott). She clocked a 23:35.7 on the 6K course to place 47th overall. . Noelle Lentz (Standish, Mich./Standish-Sterling) finished 64th overall with a time of 23:58.4. 

Ohio Dominican - The women’s cross country team closed its season with a 12th place showing at the GLIAC Cross Country Championships, hosted Saturday by Hillsdale College. The Panthers finished with 407 points to best Lake Erie (415) and Lake Superior State (417) in their first GLIAC meet. Mallory Kitts was the top finisher for ODU as she placed 90th with a time of 24:52.8. Meghan Willeke finished in 25:01.3, Hali Cassidy finished with a mark of 26:44.7, Michelle McKean in 27:05.7 and Elise Wyant rounded out the scorers with a time of 27:18.8. Kitts and Willeke went one-two in every meet this season.  

Saginaw Valley State - The Saginaw Valley State University Men’s and Women’s cross country teams competed in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Cross Country Championships. The Lady Cardinals earned an overall 6th place finish in the GLIAC and were led by junior Jean Hollerbach (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Grosse Point HS) who placed 28th overall and crossed the line with a time of 23:02.1.  Following close behind Hollerbach were teammates Chelsea Savage clocking in at 23:18.1 placing 33rd, and Megan Pittoors, timing in at 23:21.6 placing 37th.  Coming in behind Savage and Pittoors was junior Ashley Meyer who placed 41st and finished with a final time of 23:27.5.  Rounding out SVSU’s top-five was freshman Dana Stolicker who crossed the line at 23:38.9, good enough for 51st place.

Tiffin - The Tiffin University women finished eighth of 14 teams at the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships in Hillsdale, Mich. Saturday afternoon. The women finished eighth overall and second among the five Ohio teams. Carly Reese took the top spot for Tiffin, finishing 15th overall with a time of 22:25.1. Becky Miller (22:58.5) took 23rd overall while Samantha Hassan and Maria Shaw took 52nd and 53rd with times of 23:45.0 and 23:46.7, respectively. Tichelle Brant rounded out the top five for the Dragons, finishing 75th with a time of 25:07.5 to help Tiffin finish 23 points ahead of rival Findlay.

Wayne State - The Wayne State University women’s cross country teams both finished in third place at the 2010 GLIAC Championships hosted by Hillsdale College Saturday afternoon. For the fourth straight year, Senior Lauren Kessler earned All-GLIAC accolades, placing 14th with a time of 22:26.9. Fellow senior Kristi Werner finished 12th with a time of 22:09.8, making her second straight All-GLIAC team.  Junior Jennifer Rock, running in her first GLIAC Championship race, was the third WSU runner to post a top-20 finish, landing in 19th place with a time of 22:39.1. Finishing just behind Rock in 31st and 32nd were sophomore Chelsie Fuller (23:12.3) and Maggie Stalker (23:16.0). Senior Annie Magin, just seconds behind Fuller and Stalker, rounded out the Warriors top-five with a time of 23:19.6 to finish in 34th place. Next through the finish line for the Warriors were Redshirt junior Robin Coolsaet (59th-23:53.5) and sophomore Keri Clous (65th-24:04.0). In her first GLIAC Championship race, freshman Kayla Gagnon came in 92nd place (24:56.9). Sophomore Samantha Kaufman rounded out the women runners in 101st (25:24.3).