Cross Country | 10/26/2024 11:56:00 PM

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.- The Ave Maria University cross country teams competed for the second year in a row at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge, hosted by Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Gyrenes competed in the Maroon Division of the event, which annually features some of the best teams in the nation racing together before the NAIA Championships next month. The AMU women finished 12th among 19 teams, while the men were 20th of 22.

Sofia Torres was Ave Maria's top runner in Grand Rapids, finishing in the top quarter of the field with a 5k time of 18:55.20. Madison Thomas was less than 10 seconds behind her teammate, checking in with a time of 19:04.00. The third Gyrene finisher was Anne Scheck, who also finished in the top half of the field by crossing the finish line with a time of 19:17.20. All three of these times were personal bests.

Lily Burke  was just over two seconds behind Scheck with a time of 19:19.60, while Felicity Foxhoven rounded out Ave Maria's team score with a time of 19:28.10. One of the nation's top teams, Taylor, won the team and individual titles, placing four runners in the top eight and finishing with 27 points. The individual medalist was the Trojans' Jaynie Halterman, who finished the 5k course in 16:57.80.

Michael Long was the top finisher for the Gyrenes on the men's side, running the 8k course in 25:22.70. Samuel Paga was second among Gyrenes, placing in the top half of the field with a time of 25:34.20. Ave Maria's top three was concluded by Christopher Hermann, who was the last of AMU's finishers in the top half of the field with a time of 25:47.50.

All three of them were the first Gyrenes to run under 26 minutes, breaking the previous 8k school record of 26:09 which was set in 2017 by now Gyrene Hall of Famer Gabe Hogan. 

Sebastian Shea was fourth among Gyrenes with a time of 26:22.70, while the team score was rounded out by the time of Connor Coyle, who crossed the finish line at 26:38.40.

The Gyrene men also set a record for the fastest top-5 average in AMU school history, with the five scoring Gyrenes averaging a time of 25:57.

Indiana Wesleyan swept the team and individual titles, logging 140 points as a team to top second place Rio Grande. The individual winner was IWU's Eli Fullerton, who ran the 8k course in 24:12.60.

The NAIA Great Lakes Challenge was the final regular season event of the season for the Gyrenes, who now turn their attention to The Sun Conference Championships. The Gyrenes will look for the first conference title in program history in Lakeland on November 9, the program's second trip to the Holloway Park course this season. The conference championships will also determine which runners advance to nationals as individuals, an honor at least one Gyrene has earned in eight consecutive years.