Wayne State University Athletics

Lewis Sports Information

Anna O'Connor competed in her GLIAC Championship debut and garnered Second Team All-GLIAC on Saturday at MTU.

Women's Cross Country 10/21/2023 12:44:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Cross Country Runner-Up for Second Straight GLIAC Championships

Justice, Vojinov, O'Connor, and Christensen were all named Second Team All-GLIAC for their efforts.

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- The Wayne State University women's cross country team placed second for a second-consecutive year at the 2023 GLIAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning at the Michigan Tech Trails.

The Warriors once again finished behind Grand Valley State, the No. 1 program in the nation entering the weekend. GVSU swept the top seven finishing positions on its way to a lowest possible team score of 15 points. WSU ended up with 78 points on Saturday in the six-kilometer event.

The runner-up finish at the GLIAC Championship (hosted this season by Michigan Tech) matches last year's result for best finish at GLIAC's under head coach Grant Lofdahl.

Following the Lakers and Warriors in the running order were Saginaw Valley State (91 points), Northern Michigan (108), Michigan Tech (113), Parkside (143), Davenport (185), Ferris State (222), Purdue Northwest (278), and Lake Superior State (313).

Four Warriors received Second Team All-GLIAC honors for their performances inside the top-20 for the race. They were Reagan Justice (Canton, Mich. / Salem), Briana Vojinov (Brownstown, Mich. / Woodhaven), Anna O'Connor (Waterford, Ireland), and Thailyia Christensen (Flushing, Mich. / Flushing).

Winning the 6K race and earning the Women's Runner of the Year award was Grand Valley State's Natalie Graber with a time of 20:58.70. 109 competitors raced from the 10 schools.

Justice was the leading WSU representative in 13th with a time of 22:04.10. The result earned the junior her third All-GLIAC honor following First Team recognition in 2022 and Second Team honors in 2021. Both Vojinov (15th with a 22:08.10) and Christensen (19th with a 22:26.10) were named Second Team All-GLIAC for the second time in their collegiate careers after each were on the list a season ago.

O'Connor, in her first GLIAC Championship race after tranfering from Saint Leo prior to the campaign, was 18th with a mark of 22:25.30 to earn her first All-GLIAC award.

Only 12 runners per team are allowed to compete at the conference championship. Wayne State had eight other talented runners compete on its way to the runner-up effort.

Katherine Ray (Novi, Mich. / Novi) was 27th with a time of 22:39.20, which was the redshirt senior's best finish in a 6K event this season. Numerous others also picked the right time to have their best runs of 2023, with Emily Gordon (Northville, Mich. / Northville), Robin Bresolin (LaSalle, Ont. / St. Thomas of Villanova), Annalee Misch (Macomb, Mich. / Utica Eisenhower), Layla Martini (Casnovia, Mich. / Kent City), and Sarah Greb (Washington, Mich. / Romeo) also collecting their best six-kilometer finishes of the campaign on Saturday.

Fresh off her second-place individual effort at last weekend's Muskegon Jayhawk Invitational, Gordon came home 31st at the Michigan Tech Trails with a time of 22:56.50. Bresolin secured 37th (23:03.60), while Misch crossed the finish line in 38th (23:10.50).

Martini and Greb were both running in their debut appearance at the GLIAC Cross Country Championships and put in a strong effort. The junior Martini collected 73rd out of 109 with a time of 24:31.00, with Greb, a redshirt freshman, placing 89th with a mark of 25:30.90.

Rounding out the WSU runners were Aubrey Migoski (Wyandotte, Mich. / Roosevelt) and Mattie Drennan (Clarkston, Mich. / Clarkston). It was a 52nd-place run for the sophomore Migoski with her time of 22:32.10, while Drennan raced to a 66th place performance with a time of 24:07.40.

QUOTING COACH LOFDAHL
"This conference has loads of talent and depth, and the way our women performed today was quite impressive. Our teamwork and toughness were on display throughout the race. Reagan earned her third All-GLIAC medal and Bri earned her second, and they both were rock-steady throughout the race. Anna has been outstanding for us all season, and today was the best example yet of how strong of a runner she is. Thailyia's senior season has been up-and-down, but stepping up at championship time is something she's done throughout her career -- she did it once again and I'm excited to see her continue to roll at regionals and nationals. Katherine was very tough out there on a day when she didn't feel great, and Emily, Robin and Annalee all ran impressive races on a very demanding course."

"To get our top-five runners across the line within 35 seconds of each other is tremendous, and the top-7 coming in within less than a minute shows our depth and bodes well for regionals in two weeks."

UP NEXT
Wayne State will next look ahead in its postseason journey to the NCAA Midwest Regional on Saturday, November 4 at the historic Angel Mounds in Evansville, Ind. The Midwest Regional will consist of teams from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC).

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Players Mentioned

Robin Bresolin: 5' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore

Thailyia Christensen: 5' 4"; Redshirt Senior

Mattie Drennan: 5' 6"; Junior

Emily Gordon: 5' 7"; Junior

Sarah Greb: 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

Reagan Justice: 5' 4"; Junior

Layla Martini: 5' 5"; Junior

Aubrey Migoski: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Annalee Misch: 5' 6"; Junior

Katherine Ray: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

Robin Bresolin
: 5' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore

Thailyia Christensen
: 5' 4"; Redshirt Senior

Mattie Drennan
: 5' 6"; Junior

Emily Gordon
: 5' 7"; Junior

Sarah Greb
: 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

Reagan Justice
: 5' 4"; Junior

Layla Martini
: 5' 5"; Junior

Aubrey Migoski
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Annalee Misch
: 5' 6"; Junior

Katherine Ray
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior