Courtesy of Grand Valley State Athletic Communications
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- For the 22nd and 23rd consecutive seasons, Grand Valley State's men's and women's cross country squads take gold at the GLIAC Cross Country Championships.
The men kicked things off at 11 a.m. in the 8k Championship. The Lakers finished with eleven men in the top 20 for 15 total points – a perfect score. This marks the second perfect 15 in Grand Valley men's history (2010) and third in GLIAC history.
The women followed suit at 11:45 a.m., claiming first with a total of 23 points and nine top 20 finishes.
Leading the men's squad was Caleb Futter, crossing the finish line at 24:04.8. Koby Fraaza was just three seconds behind, finishing second at 24:07.7. Patrick Lyell claimed the last spot on the podium with a time of 24:30.0. Four other Laker men filled up the top 10 in fourth, fifth, eighth and 10th place.
Grand Valley's men swept the awards for their performances. Futter was named 2024 GLIAC Men's Runner of the Year and was awarded First-Team All-GLIAC honors. Freshman Owen Westerkamp's 10th place finish (24:46.5) awarded him the title of 2024 GLIAC Men's Freshman Runner of the Year. Westerkamp received First-Team All-GLIAC honors alongside the rest of the Laker's top 10 finishers.
For the lady Lakers, Lauren Kiley led the way the entirety of the race. Kiley was named the individual 2024 GLIAC Women's Cross Country Champion for her 20:46.2 time. Allie Arnsman followed close behind with a second-place finish at 20:54.5.
Kiley's race was more than a first-place finish – it was also her first race of the 2024 season.
The junior suffered an injury in the preseason that kept her out of competition and on the sidelines for the entirety of the regular season. In her first race back, she was motivated to finish first by her teammates that were cheering her on from the sidelines, just like she had done.
"I honestly just kept thinking about my teammates, which a lot of them showed up to watch!" Kiley said. "[The finish] felt great, like everything I had been working toward is starting to pay off."
Kiley was named the 2024 GLIAC Women's Runner of the Year for her performance and received First Team All-GLIAC honors. Several other women were also honored for their performance. Five Lakers were awarded First Team All-GLIAC honors. Jordyn Hopgood was named Second Team All-GLIAC for her 13th place finish.
Grand Valley's coaching staff didn't leave without recognition, either. For the 21st time in program history, they were named the GLIAC Cross Country Coach/Coaching Staff of the Year.
"It was a great day for our programs to get the championship season going," said Head Coach Jerry Baltes. "Both teams executed the race plan and competed at a high level. Six in the top nine for our women and seven in the top 10 for the men is exceptional."
Laker cross country will begin their next round of postseason races on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships hosted by Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. Competition will begin at 10 a.m. CT with the Men's 10k. The women will follow with a 6k race at 11:15 a.m. CT.
