Bellarmine had four runners place in the top 15 earning the honors of All-Conference in the GLVC. Junior Carissa Martin (New Albany, Ind.) placed fourth overall in a time of 22:23, and senior Meghan Shagena (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished one spot back in fifth with a time of 22:24. Sophomore Angela Musk (New Hope, Ky.) also had a top 10 finish, claiming ninth while clocking the six kilometers in 22:39. Capping off the All-Conference list, sophomore Kelsey Love (Westfield, Ind.) placed 15th in a time of 22:48.
The GLVC honors didn't end with runners for the Bellarmine program as Coach Jim Vargo was named Coach of the Year for Women's Cross Country. "The conference may have me listed as they coach of the year, but the award really goes to Kris Horton," Vargo said. "He's the one who had the team ready to run. When they announced the award, I made him go up and accept it," Vargo added.
The historic victory for the Knights came as a bit of a surprise as defending champion and 14th-ranked Southern Indiana came into the meet the only GLVC school to hold a top 25 ranking. The Knights were able to pull out the upset by a margin of just two points. Bellarmine totaled 52, while USI checked in a 54.
The two-point margin was hard-earned, Vargo said. "Carissa (Martin) ran by far her best race of the year, and Meghan (Shagena) had another solid performance." Vargo added that difference in first and second was that Musk and Love were able to finish strong and "out-lean" Southern Indiana runners to claim the top prize. Musk outdueled Adrienne Curtis of USI for ninth, and Love bested USI's Heather Beard by less than a second for 15th place.
In addition to the Bellarmine runners earning all conference honors three others had top 25 finishes: Maggie Wagner (19th), Corrie Reiter (20th) and Lisa Miville (25th).
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