Photo by Theo Tate
Edwardsville seniors Katelyn Singh (left) and Melissa Spencer will continue their cross country and running careers at the University of Evansville and University of Indianapolis, respectively, next year.
Edwardsville cross country and track seniors Melissa Spencer and Katelyn Singh will be taking off to the Hoosier State next year.
Spencer and Singh will be competing in cross country and track at Indiana schools that are three hours apart. Spencer will head to the University of Indianapolis, while Singh will go to the University of Evansville. Indianapolis is a NCAA Division II school, while Evansville competes in Division I.
Both seniors signed their letters of intent five minutes apart at Edwardsville High School on April 11. Their parents, Edwardsville girls track coach Camilla Eberlin and assistant cross country/track coach Dustin Davis were in attendance.
“I'm really excited to go to UIndy because it has a really good exercise science program and they also have really good cross country and track teams, so I'm really excited to be closer to them like I was with my Edwardsville teammates,” Spencer said. “I'm so excited to have Katelyn so close.”
Singh said she's glad to continue her running career in college.
“I'm going to a new E-ville,” she said. “The team is amazing here. I'll miss them a lot, but I can't wait to see records they break next year and in the future. I'm thankful for where I've grown up.”
Spencer will join an Indianapolis women's cross country and track program that competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Last year, the Greyhounds' track team finished third in the GLVC Indoor meet and second in the GLVC Outdoor meet. The cross country team placed seventh in the conference championship meet.
“I'm looking forward to it a lot,” Spencer said. “I know that I'll have a lot of competition upcoming in the next years. I'm excited to see where I can get.”
Singh will join an Evansville program that competes in the Missouri Valley Conference and is coached by Don Walters. The Purple Aces' women's cross country team placed 10th in the conference meet last fall.
“I'm very happy to have decided to run in college,” Singh said. “It gives me something to look forward to challenge myself. I had a lot of improvements this year and I hope to continue those improvements next year at the Division I level. There will be a lot of competition.”
Both Spencer and Singh have been valuable members of the Edwardsville cross country and track programs since their freshman seasons.
Last fall, Spencer finished 34th in the Class 3A state cross country meet, nine places short of an all-state medal. She also competed at state three times and earned all-Southwestern Conference honors three times.
“Her best race was the state meet without doubt and that's tough,” Davis said. “We had a lot of kids who had the potential to run well at the state meet, but they led the idea of the state meet kind of overwhelm them. This for her was something she's been working towards for four years. She competed in a lot of those state meets several times over the years.”
Spencer has seven victories in the distance events during her track career, including a first-place finish in the 1,600 at the Belleville West Invitational on March 30.
So far this spring, Singh is enjoying an outstanding track season that included three victories in the distance events, including two in the Southwestern Illinois Relays on March 23. She won the 1,600 and anchored the distance medley relay team to a victory.
Singh's cross country career included a first-place finish in the junior varsity division of the Tiger Classic in her sophomore year and a second-place finish in the varsity division of the Madison County meet and a trip to the Class 3A state meet last fall.
“She's probably one person on the team who everybody can get along with and everybody can trust,” Davis said of Singh. “I think that speaks volumes for her personality as well.”
Singh and Spencer join Lorie Cashdollar as the only Edwardsville students who plans to compete in cross country and track on college. Cashdollar signed with DePaul University in November.
“It speaks to how hard a lot of these athletes work and getting the opportunity to run in college,” Davis said. “I think that's fantastic.”