Ferris State Cross Country Competes In GLIAC Championships On Saturday
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the 2014 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships on Saturday (Nov. 8) in Tiffin, Ohio.
The annual conference championships will be hosted by Tiffin University at the Seneca Hills Golf Course. The top runners from around the GLIAC will head to Ohio for the league championships.
Saturday's event gets under way at 11 a.m. (ET) with the women's 6K race. The men's 8K event will begin at 11:45 a.m. (ET) with the awards ceremony to follow.
Grand Valley State is the defending champion on both the men's and the women's side.
On the women's side, six league schools are found in the top 20 of the latest United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Rankings, including four in the top 15 overall.
In the men's field, a total of four GLIAC schools are in the top 20 nationally and six are found in the top 10 of the regional rankings, including Ferris State at number eight.
A year ago, the Bulldog men's squad placed fifth and the women took seventh place at the GLIAC Championships in Houghton. The FSU men eventually went on to place fourth at the NCAA-II Midwest Regional Championships to advance to nationals while the women's squad placed sixth in regional competition.
Last year, the Bulldog men had an impressive showing at the 2013 NCAA Division II National Championships held in Spokane, Wash. FSU placed 10th overall after qualifying for nationals for the second consecutive year on the heels of a 2012 appearance, which was the program's first since 1985. Last year marked FSU's ninth all-time trip to the national championships.
Following this week's trip to the GLIAC Championships, the Bulldogs will then compete in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championships on Nov. 22 in Evansville, Ind. The top four teams from each regional will advance to the national championships on Dec. 6 in Louisville, Ky.
For more information on the GLIAC Championships, please visit this link:
http://www.gliac.org/sports/wxc/2014-15/championship/championship_central