FSU To Compete At GLIAC Championships

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the 2011 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships on Saturday (Oct. 22) in Ashland, Ohio.

The annual conference championships will be hosted by Ashland University at Brookside Golf Course.

The women's 6K championship race will begin at 11 a.m. (ET) with the men's 8K event to follow at approximately 11:45 a.m. (ET).

The Ferris women's cross country team is ranked third nationally in the latest United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Rankings along with first in the Midwest Regional listing under fourth-year head coach Steve Picucci. Meanwhile, the men's team is sixth in the Midwest Region.

In addition to the Bulldog women, Grand Valley State is also ranked nationally in the women's field as the Lakers are listed second in the country ahead of the Bulldogs, but behind FSU in the region in second place.  The GVSU men are third nationally with Ashland's men's squad coming in at 24th.

Five GLIAC women's programs are listed among the region's top 10 teams in FSU (1st), GVSU (2nd), Saginaw Valley State (5th), Ashland (6th) and Hillsdale (7th).  On the men's side, GVSU (1st), Ashland (3rd), Hillsdale (5th) and FSU (6th) are all regionally-ranked going into the conference championships.

Last season, the Bulldog women placed second and the men were eighth at the league championships (11/6) in Hillsdale, Mich.  The Bulldog women's squad went on to advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships (12/4) and placed eighth in Louisville, Ky.

FSU senior Tina Muir (St. Albans, U.K.) figures to be one of the top individual contenders in the women's field for the fourth consecutive campaign. A year ago, Muir took 11th place overall at the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championships in earning All-America honors for the third consecutive campaign. 

Following the GLIAC Championships, Ferris State will host the 2011 NCAA-II Midwest Regional set for Saturday, Nov. 5, at FSU's Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids.  The NCAA Division II National Championships will be held in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday, Nov. 19.

For more information on the GLIAC Championships, please visit this link:
http://goashlandeagles.com/sports/xc/2011_GLIAC_Cross_Championship_Manual-web.pdf