Cross Country | 10/25/2025 11:18:00 PM
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.- The Ave Maria University cross country teams made a trip north, competing on Saturday in the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event, hosted by Aquinas College, features some of the top programs in the Midwest, as well as other programs from around the nation. Ave Maria competed in the Maroon Division in both genders, with the men placing 14th and the women slotting in 16th.
The Ave Maria men were led by freshman David Giles, who finished just off a five-minute mile pace with a time of 24:57.2, a career-best by more than a minute. Another AMU newcomer, junior Donavan Mattson, placed second among Gyrenes with a time of 25:19.7, also a season best. Ave Maria's top three also included senior Samuel Paga, who crossed the finish line in a time of 25:43.8.
Ave Maria's team score was rounded out by times from Sebastian Shea and Connor Coyle, with Shea crossing the finish line with a time of 25:54.0 and Coyle putting up a time of 25:57.7. The team competition in the Maroon Division was won by Indiana Wesleyan, currently the No. 2 team in the nation. The individual medalist was Madonna University's Mehdi Nait Hamoud, who won a nailbiting finish over Goshen's Drew Hogan.
Freshman Anabella Descalzo was Ave Maria's top runner in the women's race, running the 5k course in 18:56.8, a career best. Lily Hynds also trimmed almost 30 seconds off her time from the Ave Maria Invitational - AMU's first 5k race of the season, finishing the course in 19:20.2. Reigning national qualifier Madison Thomas was third among Gyrenes, crossing the finish line with a time of 19:24.9.
Maria Gutierrez and Isabelle Meyer rounded out Ave Maria's scorers in Grand Rapids, with Gutierrez clocking in at 19:30.2 and Meyer finishing less than three seconds later at 19:32.9. In total, four of Ave Maria's five scorers in Grand Rapids are in their first year in the program. In the Maroon Division, national No. 1 Taylor University won the team title, with the individual crown going to Olivet Nazarene's Heidi Heldt, who ran the 5k course in 17:28.4
The Great Lakes Challenge marks the final event of the regular season for the Gyrene cross country teams. Ave Maria will now have two weeks to prepare for The Sun Conference Championship, held this year in Savannah, Georgia on November 8. The Gyrenes will be looking to send a runner to the national championship event for the tenth consecutive year, and will look to send multiple runners for the eighth consecutive season.
