FSU Women 4th, Men 8th As Bulldogs Host 2016 GLIAC Cross Country Championships

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's cross country squad placed fourth and the men took eighth place as the Bulldogs hosted the 2016 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships for the first time in 13 years on Saturday (Oct. 22) at FSU's Katke Golf Course.

The Bulldog women tallied 151 points in the 6K race on the home course to place well into the upper half of the 15-team event. Grand Valley State finished first (35) with Northern Michigan second (69) and Hillsdale third (76) in a highly-competitive field.

Freshman Kathryn Etelamaki led the Bulldogs as she took 28th place overall in a time of 23:09.6 in the race. Senior Racheal McDonald came in right behind her in 29th place (23;12.1) with junior Molly Emerick placing 33rd (23:27.2).

The Bulldog pack also included junior Jessica Delaney in 36th place (23:37.0) with junior Kelly Babcock coming in 37th (23:39.4) and sophomore Jordan Lee taking 40th place (23:47.0).

In the men's competition, Ferris State finished with 210 total points in the 8K men's race. GVSU captured the team title with 28 points followed by Saginaw Valley State (77) and Hillsdale (111) in the top three overall.

Junior Trevor Holowaty led the way for the Bulldogs with a 22nd-place performance (25:48.5) followed by senior Logan Hammer in 36th place (26:26.7). Sophomore Damien Halverson came in 46th (26:41.9) with sophomore Casey Neal 64th (27:18.0) and freshman Grant Gabriel 70th (27:29.3) for FSU. 

Senior Kyle Richardson finished 74th for the Bulldogs (27:32.8) and sophomore Zach McKenzie came in 80th (27:45.1).

This year marked only the third time since 1995 in which the Bulldogs had hosted the GLIAC Cross Country Championships and the meet came on the heels of the 2016 GLIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by FSU last May at Top Taggart Field. More than 200 runners competed in the two races.

Overall, this year represented the 46th annual men's league cross country championships while the women ran for the 28th-straight year in the conference competition.

The Ferris State men's and women's cross country teams are guided by former Bulldog standout and local native Jared Kelsh, who is midst his third campaign at the Bulldog helm. Saturday's meet represented the final competition of the season for both FSU teams prior to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championships, which take place on Nov. 5 in Evansville, Ind.