KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan cross country program and head coach Kevin Cataldo have announced the signing of six runners prior to the 2024 season. Grace Aurand, Shannon Gillahan, Ava Kurczewski, Lara Machado Pereira, Lily Overton and Reagan Viau are the six new faces joining the WMU program. 

GRACE AURAND | FIFTH YEAR | HIGHLAND, IND. | HIGHLAND HS (VALPARAISO)
Aurand enters the program after spending the last four seasons at Valparaiso. She was one of the top athletes in the program, as she holds top-five marks in program history in the 6K, 5K and 1,500-meter run. She was the first women's athlete to crack the program's top five since 2014. Along with that, she was a top student, notching awards such as MVC Academic Honor Roll, CSC Academic All-District, the University Presidential Academic Award and Valparaiso's Top of the Class Award. 

SHANNON GILLAHAN | FRESHMAN | OKEMOS, MICH. | OKEMOS HS
Gillahan was one of the top athletes in the entire state during her senior season, earning five top-five finishes while never being lower than 15th in any race. She won the CAAC Blue League Meet before going on to finish fourth at the MHSAA Regional meet. Over the course of her career, she's been a three-time All-Conference performer and three-time All-Region honoree, among other things. On the track, Gillahan was a regional champion in the 3200-meter run. 

AVA KURCZEWSKI | FRESHMAN | WHITE LAKE, MICH. | WALLED LAKE NORTHERN
Kurczewski comes to WMU after a strong career at Walled Lake Northern. During her senior season, she had three top-10 finishes. She finished 11th at the LVC Championship meet and 10th at the MHSAA Regional meet. At the MHSAA State Championships, she was able to grab 27th with a time of 18:38.5. That made her an All-State honoree. In her high school career, she was a three-time All-Conference selection and two-time All-Region honoree. In track, she was the regional champion in the 800m, 1600m, 4x800 and 4x400. At the state meet, she finished fourth in the 800 and fifth in the 4x400. 

LARA MACHADO PEREIRA | FRESHMAN | FELGUEIRAS, PORTUGAL | ESCOLA SECUNDARIA DE FELGUEIRAS
Coming to WMU from Portugal, Machado Pereira had a strong 2024 season, which included a variety of great times. Among those times is the her PR 5K road time of 17:42. Additionally, she has a PR 3K time of 9:54.55. Over the course of her career, she has competed at several top events such as the Portuguese U20 Championships. She notched third place in both the 1500 and 3K at the Portuguese U20 Indoor Championships, while grabbing third in the 3K and fourth in the 1500 at the Portuguese U20 Outdoor Championships.  

LILY OVERTON | SOPHOMORE | DEVONPORT, TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA | LEIGHLAND CHRISTIAN SCHOOL (IONA)
Overton comes to Western Michigan after spending one season at Iona. While at Iona, Overton was able to earn MAAC Rookie Team of the Year honors. Along with that, she finished 21st at the MAAC Cross Country Championships with a time of 22:27.8. She has a 6K PR time of 21:38.7 and 5K PR time of 18:55.1. To end her lone XC season at Iona, she raced at the NCAA Division Northeast Region Championships, finishing with a time of 21:56.1. On the track, she was fourth in the mile at the Indoor MAAC Championships and holds PR's of 4:33 in the 1500 and 9:49 in the 3K. 

REAGAN VIAU | FRESHMAN | CEDAR SPRINGS, MICH. | CEDAR SPRINGS HS
Viau had a strong cross country career at Cedar Springs, ending her senior season with a 52nd-place finish at the MHSAA Regional meet. Prior to that, she finished 22nd at the OK Gold Conference Championships. On the season, she was able to post three top-30 finishes.