Holland Reporter

Grand Valley State University's men's and women's cross country teams have been ranked first in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll for the 2025 season. The poll, released by the GLIAC, reflects votes from coaches across the conference.

The men's team received 81 points and nine votes to win the conference championship, placing them ahead of Saginaw Valley State, which earned 71 points and one vote for the title. On the women's side, Grand Valley State leads with 100 points and all but one of the championship votes. Parkside is second with 84 points and a single vote for first place.

This season, Grand Valley State's men's team brings back 43 athletes from last year. Among those returning are Koby Fraaza, Brock Wooderson, and redshirt-sophomore Owen Westerkamp—all of whom competed at the 2024 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. The roster also includes fifteen new members.

For the women’s squad, fifteen newcomers join twenty-one returning athletes. Senior Lauren Kiley stands out after claiming three individual cross country championship titles despite missing much of last year's regular season due to injury. "After injury took Kiley out of the 2024 regular season, she bounced back with a vengeance in the postseason," according to Grand Valley State Athletics. "The now-senior went undefeated, winning the GLIAC individual championship title in her first race back before snagging the individual title at the NCAA DII Midwest Region Championships." Kiley finished her season with a national title-winning time of 20:28.5 in the women’s 6k at nationals.

Other returners who participated at nationals include Allie Arnsman, Abby Olson, Annika Sandman, Maggie O'Malley and Abigail VanderKooi.

The Lakers will begin their campaign on September 12 at Michigan State's Spartan Invite. Fans can access more information about schedules on gvsulakers.com.