Gorloks Repeat as Kuykendall Makes SLIAC History
Webster University repeated as Women's Cross Country Champions of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while Westminster College senior Jessie Kuykendall made conference history winning her third individual title.
Webster cruised to the repeat victory with 29 points as they had three runners place in the top six. The Gorloks 30 point margin of victory was the largest at the SLIAC Championship since the 2008 season. This marks the first time the Gorlok program has won back-to-back titles and is the third overall in program history. They are the first team to repeat as SLIAC Champions since Greenville University did so from 2004 through 2009.
Webster's depth shined on Saturday as they had seven runners finish in the top 17 including four in the top nine. Meredith Sowers finished first for the Gorloks, taking 3rd place overall with a time of 23:39, while teammate Minnell Fundora pushed Sowers in the race and finished less than a second behind. Kalleigh Linthicum took 5th overall and Lauren Coleman grabbed 9th place.
The race started with Iowa Wesleyan's Sierra Howardson leading around the first outer loop. Howardson, a freshman, crossed the finish line first for the Tigers and 7th overall earning First Team All-Conference honors in the programs first year back in competition. The Tigers took 6th place as a team with 143 points.
Individually the race was controlled by Westminster's Jessie Kuykendall. Kuykendall, who had not raced in a month eased her way into the race before opening up after the first lap. After loosening up her legs she was able to move into first place following the first mile and then cruised to victory, extending her lead and crossing with the winning time of 23:01. With her 3rd SLIAC individual title she becomes the first runner in conference history to win three times in her career, surpassing five other players that had won twice.
Kelsey Phillips took second place for Spalding University with a time of 23:31 while her teammate Victoria Shedron also finished in the top ten with a time of 24:27. The Golden Eagles finished 3rd overall with 93 points.
Principia College's Emme Schaefer placed 5th overall with a time of 23:49 and was named the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year as Principia totaled 98 points for 4th place as a team.
Greenville University finished second as a team with 59 points. Shirley Estes paced the Panthers with an 8th place finish and a time of 24:08.
Fontbonne University finished 5th in the team standings with 121 points. The Griffins were balanced as four runners finished within 12 spots of each other. Desiree Brooks led the team with a time of 26:49, finishing 25th overall.
Kathryn Chase led the Blackburn runners, finishing 28th overall with a time of 27:05 while Haley Alt led MacMurray, placing 38th, with a time of 28:48.
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