With less than three weeks to go before the GLIAC Championships, the Grand Valley State University
men’s and women’s cross country teams had an opportunity to further prepare as they went up
against a slew of NCAA Division II competition at the Notre Dame Invitational this weekend.

“It was a nice opportunity for us to go up against some bigger schools that we normally don’t see,”
GVSU sophomore Jessica Janecke sad. “As we get further and further into the season, these types of
races are really going to be a test to see where we are as a team.”

In the men’s race, the No. 3 Lakers proved to be a dominant force as they manhandled the
competition, outlasting second-place North Central College by 38 points.

North Central came into the event as the top-ranked team in all of the NCAA Division III.

“I thought after we got a feel of how the racing conditions were after the women’s race that our men’s
team was able to take a more conservative approach, which helped us come up with the win,” GVSU
head coach Jerry Baltes said.

Leading the way for the Lakers was junior Alan Peterson, who crossed the finish line with a time of
25:35, finishing second overall.

Peterson had been named the GLIAC Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Wednesday.

“(Alan) has continued to lead us in every race this season,” Baltes said. “No surprise that he was able
to have they type of day that he did.”

Seniors Josh Moskalewski and Brent Showerman also helped lead the Lakers to victory as both runners
finished in the top 10. Moskalewski came in fourth with a time of 25:38 before Showerman followed
behind him with a ninth-place time of 25:50.

“Josh really stepped up and was a big part of our success this past weekend,” Baltes said. “Brent really
had a solid day as well. Whenever those three core guys are running well, we always have a chance to
win.”

The Laker women also faired well as they put together a second-place finish in the gold division.

The team came close to taking home the invitational championship but fell to first-place Southern
Illinois University by a slim margin of 11 points.

“I don’t necessarily think we were completely pleased with how we finished, but you can’t be too
disappointed with a second-place finish,” Janecke said. “I feel like we ran good for the running
conditions as well.”

Janecke led the charge for the No. 1 Lakers, as she finished fourth overall with a time of 17:42. Also
finishing in the top 10 was senior Courtney Brewis, who crossed the finish line in ninth place with a
time of 17:48.

“We still aren’t exactly where we want to be, but we put in a good overall team performance this
weekend,” Brewis said. “Our big focus is the GLIAC’s right now. Every race is preparing us for that
meet.”

Rounding out the top five for the Lakers was freshman Kendra Foley, who finished 12th with a time of
17:51, junior Hannah Osborn, who finished 16th with a time of 18:10 and junior Allyson Winchester
who finished 21st with a time of 18:20.

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