The Online Reflector

The University of Indianapolis men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships at Drury University on Oct. 20.

The men’s team finished fourth out of 12 teams, while the women’s team took third out of 13.

For the women, junior Sutton Knapp led UIndy by placing 12th overall with a time of 22:37.80, followed by sophomore Jacklyn Howland in 13th with a time of 22:39.50 and senior Stephanie Cave in 14th with a time of 22:43.20. With their top-15 finishes, the three earned all-GLVC honors for the year.

For the men, sophomore Alex Cushman finished ninth with a time of 25:18.00, followed by junior Ben McMillan at 12th with a time of 25:30.90. Cushman and McMillan were awarded all-GLVC for their finishes.

Prior to the championships, Head Coach Kathy Casey prepared both teams by concentrating on their times and mental focus.

“Right now it really is business-as-usual for us,” Casey said. “We are focusing on fine-tuning our times, our speeds and talking about strategies that work best.”

Casey said that her goals for the team was getting both sides into the top three, with two runners as all-GLVC champions.

Senior Ian O’Boyle said that preparations for the GLVC Championships  focused on the mental aspect.

“The guys are working toward their best,” O’Boyle said. “Our main focus is increasing our speed, cutting down the miles, and just getting into the mental state that we are going to win this [GLVC Championships].”

Knapp talked about the physical preparations for the championships and what her expectations were for the team.

“This week we back off some but still focus on big workouts for speed and endurance,” Knapp said. “My goal is to be higher in [the] rankings than we were last year, to make it to the top three or at the very least get close to that range.”

The Greyhounds will compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Midwest Regional in Kenosha, Wis. on  Nov. 3.