Oct. 19, 2007

CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION

RESULTS

Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst men's and women's cross country teams, along with Gannon, play host to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Pleasant Ridge Park in Fairview, Pa.

The women's 6,000-meter race is scheduled to start at 11 a.m., and the men's 8,000-meter event will start at 11:45 a.m. The award ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. at the park's pavilion.

Admission to the event is free of charge and event programs can be picked up on site.

Both Mercyhurst's men's and women's squads seem to be peaking at just the right time entering the championships. Last week, senior Kenneth Foster earned a second-place finish at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational and the women placed second out of 14 teams with freshman Cherie Jackson turning in her best time of the season and a fourth-place finish. Both teams have already competed at the Pleasant Ridge Park course once this season with the men and women capturing dual meet victories over rival Gannon.

For the men, Foster has been steady all season, earning five top-eight finishes, including a win in the "Race at the Park," and a pair of runner-up finishes in the last two weeks. He is also the defending GLIAC Runner of the Week.

Freshman Ronny Whiting has produced an excellent freshman season, as well, with four top-10 finishes and a season-best time of 27:24 at the National Catholic Invitational.

As a team, the Lakers have finished fourth or better in all but the National Catholic Invitational, which is heavy with Division I squads.

The Lakers are hoping to better their 11th-place team finish from last year. The top finisher last season was Foster in 47th.

The favorites heading into the event are five-time defending champions, Grand Valley State. Grand Valley is ranked No. 4 in Division II and first in the Great Lakes Region. Two-time individual champion senior Nate Peck is set to challenge for the title once again. Peck has never finished lower than second at the GLIAC Championships.

Also in contention for the team title is Ashland, which enters the meet ranked No. 16 in Division II and third in the region. Hillsdale is ranked 24th nationally and sixth in the region. Other teams ranked in the region are Saginaw Valley at No. 7, last year's runner-up Wayne State at No. 9 and Ferris State at No. 10.

Grand Valley State is also favored in the women's race after winning the conference title each of the last six seasons. The squad is ranked No. 3 in Division II and first in the Great Lakes Region. Sophomore Leah Borns returns after being named GLIAC Freshman of the Year last season.

Findlay is also nationally ranked at No. 21, but Wayne State holds a higher regional ranking at No. 2 in the Great Lakes Region. Ferris State (No. 6), Northern Michigan (No. 7) and Saginaw Valley (No. 8) will all look to dethrone Grand Valley State.

Mercyhurst finished 13th out of 13 teams last season, but an infusion of young talent at the beginning of the 2007 campaign, the team is clearly improved. Cherie Jackson has captured three first-place finishes this season and became the first Laker women's runner in school history to be named GLIAC Runner of the Week. She has finished fourth or better in all but one event this season.

Jackson isn't the only Laker freshman turning in an impressive season. Christie Turak has two top-10 finishes and four top-20 performances to her credit, and Jennifer Mieczkowski has finished 16th or better four times in six events.