ST. LOUIS – Indiana State hosts the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship on Friday, October 28, at the La Vern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terra Haute, Indiana. The women will begin the event with a 6K race at 9 a.m. ET and Men will race following the women in an 8K slated for 10:00 a.m. ET.
Bradley men’s and women’s teams earn the top spots for the championship poll. The men’s have their eyes on earning the top spot for the sixth time after eight seasons finishing second in the 2021 fall championship. The women aim for champion status after coming in runner-up for the last three MVC championships, their last champion title earned in 2018.
Voted by the membership, Bradley earned a unanimous eleven out of twelve first-place votes, nearing a perfect point total of 143 points. Leading the Braves to are two Missouri Valley Conference Runners of the week sophomore Nicola Jansen (Oct. 20) and freshman Peyton Schieppe (Sept. 21). Jansen set a personal best in the women’s 6k at the Bradley Pink Classic with a time of 19:57.4, earning her second place in a field of 306 and a school record. Schieppe not far behind also set a personal best at the Bradley Pink Classic where she finished 24th in the field with a time of 20:51.2. Junior Tyler Schwartz also put up a notable time of 20:40.7 in the women’s 6k to earn 16th place. In this single race the Bradley women pull ahead of the conference going in first through third. Bradley women’s cross country currently ranks fifth in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional rankings.
Tied at second place with 120 points are Illinois State and Drake. Drake’s Brooke Mullins set a 6K PR of 20:29.5 at the Bradley Pink Classic on Oct. 14 for her third Top-10 finish of the season. Mullins earned MVC Runner of the Week honors after with third place finish at Mizzou’s Gans Creek Classic Sept. 30. Tyla Lumley (21:14.5) and Emilie Meyer (21:37.9) also set their 6K personal bests at the Bradley Pink Classic.
Caroline Meyers of Illinois State leads the Redbirds with her performance in the Bradley Pink Classic where she finished 37th in the field with a time of 21:17.4. Teammates Claire Fuhlhage and Ailey Mitchell aid Meyers with their finish in the Gan Creek Classic earlier this season. Fuhluhage finished the 6K with a personal best time of 21:28.0 and Mitchell finished with a time of 21:37.9 to take 52nd in a field of 236.
Belmont follows closely in fourth with a point total of 117 earning three first and second-place votes from the membership. The Bruins are led by Junior Katie Flaherty, Kaitlyn Vanderkolk, and Grace Litzinger. The three set a precedence at the Alabama Crimson Classic with all placing in the top 33 in a field of 180. However, the Bruins show depth in their 5-7 runners making for a promising first MVC Championship.
Northern Iowa aims to regain power as they tally fifth in the pre-championship poll with 94 points, after finishing eighth in the championships last year. The Panthers bring promising perspective by sophomores Kate Crawford and Emma Hoins as they break into the 21-minute mark in the 6k at the Gan’s Creek Classic. Senior Paige Holub marks an honorable time of 22:00.3 at the Bradley Pink Classic. As a team the Panthers have found themselves at the top half of the pack with each competition, most notably at the Bradley Pink Classic where they finished 18th in a field of 42 teams.
Missouri State tabbed sixth, compiled a total 79 points led by senior Edna Dar and her time of 21:39.8 at the Platte River Rumble where she finished 10th out of 124. Teammates Claudrice McKoy and Shelby Palmer follow Dar with her best time in the 6K of 22:03.4 and 22:15.5, respectively.
Southern Illinois falls closely behind as they tab a three-point difference behind Missouri State, totaling 76 points. The Salukis had a strong start to the 2022 season at the Redhawks XC Invite, Senior Rachel Anderson finished in first-place and has been a consistent threat for the women on the course with three Top-25 finishes.
Illinois-Chicago enters their first MVC Championship tabbed eight by the leadership of Teresa Mejia, an OVC all-conference performer a season ago. Mejia continues to grow and pace the women’s squad, having posted the fourth-fastest 6k time in UIC program history. The senior posted a personal best time of 21:41.9 at the Gans Creek Classic earlier this season.
Host Indiana State, earns ninth with a tally of 48 votes is led by Erica Barker who moved into the top 10 6k times in program history this season (18:48.2, 9th), while Chloe Loftus and Morgan Dyer follow closely behind. The Sycamores are among the youngest teams in the Valley, as Indiana State has no seniors among its scoring group.
Murray State posts a tallied 40 points for tenth place. Led by Ruth Kimutai’s performance at the Bradley Pink Classic, posting a time of 22:15.8. The sophomore is followed by junior Amirr Evans and freshman Jocelyn Host. The teammates posted notable times of 23:15.1 for Evans and 23:19.1 for Host.
Valparaiso and Evansville hold the final two spots of the poll as they garnered 24 and 13 points, respectively. The Beacons' Grace Aurand posts a time of 22:28.6 at the Bradley Pink Classic and Evansville's Melanie Helder posts a 5K time of 18:14.0, are the front runners for the programs.
In a tight race to the top, Bradley men hold their own against reigning MVC Cross Country Champions Drake. Posting three points ahead of the Bulldogs the Braves tally a total of 116 points, with six first place votes and five second place votes. The Braves are led by senior Alec Danner, posting a notable 8K time of 23:46.2 at the Bradley Pink Classic, after beating his own previous record set earlier in the season. The Brave has also earned two-time runner of the week honors with both personal bests as he sets the school record twice in one season. The depth of the Braves does not end with Danner, as teammates George Watson and Charlie Parrish both also setting personal bests at the Bradley Pink Classic in the 8K with times of 23:47.2 and 23:49.7 respectively. Bradley men’s cross country currently ranks ninth in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional rankings.
Drake tabs second with a point total of 113 with five first-place votes among the membership. The reigning MVC cross country champions are led by Isaac Basten who earned MVC Runner of the Week after his seventh-place performance at the Gans Creek Classic with an 8K time of 23:50.3 leading the Bulldog men to an impressive fourth place finish. Enzo Marie finished eighth in the 8K at Nebraska’s Greeno/Dirksen Invitational with a time of 24:30.45. Drake men’s cross country currently ranks eighth in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional rankings.
Illinois State slated for third at 98 points, led by junior Baptiste Tardiveau and his performance at the Gans Creek Classic where he finished 21st in a field of 231. The redbird stopped the clock at 24:14.0 and clocked a similar time of 24:17.0 at the Bradley Pink Classic. Teammates Zachary Loomis and Mathis Chavand aid to the Redbird tally with their times at the Bradley Pink Classic of 24:21.60 and 24:24.60, respectively.
Belmont enters their first MVC Cross Country Championship tabbed fourth for the men with sophomores Ethan Hammers and Kevin Vanderkolk leading the Bruins. Vanderkolk earned MVC runner of the week honors (Sept. 7) with his first-place finish in the Belmont Opener. The Bruin posted his best 8K time in the 24:43.1 at the John McNichols Invite earlier this season. Ethan Hammers earned an 18th place finish in the field of 143 stopping the clock at 24:35.3, posting a new personal best in the 8K. Belmont is currently ranked 14th in the USTFCCCA South Regional Rankings.
Southern Illinois slated for fifth with 79 points led by sophomores Dawson Smith & Ethan Senti, entering the MVC Championships coming off a solid performance at the Bradley Pink Classic, earning a 15th place team finish overall. Ethan Senti posted his best time in the 8K at the Gans Creek Classic with a time of 24:19.1 earning a spot in the top 30 of the race. Smith marked his best time in the 8K at the Bradley Pink Classic with a time of 23:52.9 and a top 20 finish.
Indiana State voted for sixth after their first-place finish at the EIU Walt Crawford Invitational and the sycamores continued to improve with each successive race. This season has seen every Sycamore returner set a new PR, headlined by Jackson Krieg (24:22.0, 6th) and Logan Pietrzak (24:24.0, 9th) moving into the top 10 8k times in program history. Jason Dworak (24:35.7, 15th in program history) has also broken the 25-minute mark this season in the 8k, and all three rank inside the top 10 in the MVC this season.
Illinois-Chicago and Valparaiso tie for seventh with 53 points as The Valparaiso cross country program has shown significant progress over the course of the first season under Vincent Walker's leadership. The team peaked in the final meet prior to the MVC Championships as most of the roster reached personal records at the Bradley Pink Classic on Oct. 14. The Beacon men finished ahead of five MVC members in the team standings as part of a top-half finish. In addition, the meet was highlighted by four entries into the program record book - Ignacio Veloz Bonilla (second in men's 8K), Simeon Ehm (third in men's 8K), Evan Walda (seventh in men's 8K.
Illinois-Chicago’s first appearance in the Missouri Valley has primed the flames under the leadership of interim head coach Paul Zavala. Freshman Daniel Chavez leads the men’s program into the postseason, having run the second-fastest 8k time in program history last time out in just his fourth collegiate race. Followed by teammates Dathan Maton and Alex Bacci’s times set at the Gans Creek Classic of 24:45.90 and 24:59.90, respectively.
Northern Iowa slated for ninth with 36 points, led by sophomore Payton Marrs’ time at the Gans Creek Classic stopping the clock at 24:55.00. The panthers show consistency between three aiding teammates to Marrs including Caleb Shumaker’s time of 25:22.02, Brady Griebel time of 25:25.00, and Jayden Dickson time of 25:54.00.
Murray State debut into the MVC sets them at tenth place in the polls. The racers are led by senior Jorge Ruiz and his best time in the 8K of 24:27.4 at the Bradley Pink Classic. The senior is followed by teammates Vicente Correia and Joey Santoro’s 8K time of 25:14.0 and 25:57.1 both also set at the Bradley Pink Classic.
The final team in the poll marks Evansville at eleventh place with eleven points. Sophomore Adam Oulgout has been UE’s top runner and has set a new personal-best time in the 8-K in each of the last two meets entering the Valley Championships. Oulgout’s personal best 8K time is marked at 26:28.6 set at the UE Invite where the Ace finished 6th individually and 5th as a team.
Indiana State hosts the 2022 MVC Cross Country Championship, Friday, October 28, in Terra Haute, Indiana. Check out the Valley's championship central page HERE – for more championship details.