Cross Country Teams Earn Runner-Up Honors

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's cross country teams both put together impressive performances by earning runner-up honors at the prestigious Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday (oct. 1) in Louisville, Ky.

The event was held at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville and hosted by the Greater Louisville Sports Commission.

The Ferris State women's team, which is ranked third nationally in the NCAA Division II poll, placed second overall in the women's Gold Division with 190 points behind champion Michigan (81).  The Bulldogs placed ahead of Mississippi, which was third (202), followed by Purdue (228) and South Florida (232).  A total of 30 teams competed in the women's Gold Division with most coming from the NCAA Division I level.

Senior All-American Tina Muir led the Bulldogs as she finished second overall in the 5k event in a time of 16:59.01.  The women's race was won by Lydia Kosgei of Eastern Kentucky in a time of 16:51.12.

Bulldog sophomore Samantha Johnson took eighth place (17:13.83), junior Anna Rudd was 31st (17:44.79), junior Alyssa Osika came in 49th (18:02.76) and junior Shelby Janutol finished 107th (18:32.74).

Sophomore Brittany Anderson took 135th place (18:43.75), junior Jordan McGuire was 136th (18:44.21), junior Felicia Slate placed 146th (18:46.25), freshman Kristie LeSage came in 174th (18:59.41) and sophomore Breeann Ovakaitys took 246th (20:15.70).

The Bulldog men tallied 146 points in finishing second of 33 competing teams in the Blue Division of the Greater Louisville Classic.  NCAA Division I member Lipscomb took first place (119) with the Bulldogs placing second ahead of other D1 schools such as Southeast Missouri State coming in third (173), Southern Illinois-Edwardsville fourth (213) and Evansville fifth (232).

Junior Ryan Chute paced the Bulldog men as he came in 12th overall of 285 competing runners in the division in a time of 25:18.88 in the 8K race.  Junior Tyler Crossman was right behind him in 13th place (25:20.82) with freshman Andrew Harper 40th (25:54.33) and freshman Spencer Gerber 50th (26:01.14).  

Senior Alex Best took 54th place (26:02.24) and sophomore Bill King was 65th (26:09.22) for FSU.  Junior Steve Neshkoff finished 68th (26:12.12) and freshman Charlton Craig wound up 114th (26:35.98) and sophomore David Silversmith came in 169th (26:59.95). Freshman Blake Garver was 192nd (27:20.53).

The men's race was won by unattached competitor Bailey Bunyan in a time of 24:49.34 overall.

Both the Ferris State men's and women's teams are ranked among the top 10 teams in the Midwest Region with the women first in the regional listing and the men sixth. 

Ferris State will next take part in the Penn State National meet on Friday, Oct. 14, in State College, Pa.