FSU MEN’S & WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Junior Jenny Irwin & Freshman Jared Kelsh Garner Most Valuable Runner Accolades

Jenny Irwin

Irwin placed 46th overall in the six-kilometer (K) 2004 NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country National Championships (11/20) at Evansville, Ind. She was the lone Bulldog runner to compete in the national meet and completed the 6K course in a time of 23:16.8. A three-year letterwinner, Irwin claimed All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) First Team honors for the second consecutive season this campaign with a fourth-place effort (22:37.30 time) at the 6K GLIAC Championships (10/23) in Hudsonville, Mich. She advanced individually to the national championships by virtue of her seventh place (22:39.94) All-Great Lakes Region performance in the 6K NCAA-II Great Lakes Region Championships (11/6) at Edwardsville, Ill. The 2003 Division II Cross Country Coaches Association Individual All-Academic Award honoree placed among the top 10 meet competitors in six of her eight races this campaign and won two individual titles.

Kelsh compiled three top-20 finishes this campaign, including an 11th-place finish (26:06) at the 8K Loyola Lakefront Invitational (10/2) in Chicago, Ill. He placed 31st overall (26:52.) in the 8K GLIAC Championships. Kelsh, who was Ferris’ top finisher in six of the squad’s seven races this campaign, finished 54th overall (34:21.33) on the 10K course at the NCAA-II Great Lakes Region Championships.

The men’s Most Improved Runner Award was presented to freshman Nick Evans (Stevensville/Bridgman), who competed in this season’s final six meets. Evans’ highest finish was 24th (28:39.36) in the 8K Bulldog Invitational (9/24) held at FSU’s Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Mich. He placed 98th overall with a 29:07.2 time in the GLIAC Championships.

Junior Kristen Balla (Farmington) garnered women’s Most Improved Runner Award recognition after finishing among the top 45 runners in four of her final five races this campaign. Balla placed seventh overall (19:57.12) in the 5K Bulldog Invitational and was 43rd (23:53.5) at the GLIAC Championships. She also captured 15th-place (23:34) honors in the 6K Michigan Intercollegiate Championships (10/8) at Hudsonville, Mich.

The Ferris State women's cross country team fell three points short of qualifying as a team for the national championships after recording 166 points while placing fifth in this season’s regional event. FSU was ranked eighth nationally in the final (Nov. 1) NCAA Division II Cross Country Coaches Association Women’s Regular-Season National Poll following its third-place finish in the GLIAC Championships. Ferris’ men’s team took 10th place (271 points) in the league championships and was 18th (471 points) among the regional field. Five of Ferris’ top seven women’s runners and all nine men’s squad members are eligible to return for the 2005 campaign.