Southern Illinois University
Saluki Invitational
SIU Men And Women Finish 4th At Saluki Invitational
10/12/2002 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Oct. 12, 2002
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Led by top finishes from juniors Doron Giat and Noa Beitler, the Southern Illinois University men's and women's cross country teams each placed fourth Saturday at the 28th Annual Saluki Invitational.
The Saluki men finished with 110 points in the 79-runner, nine-team field. Southern Indiana (39) edged out Indiana State (45) for the men's team championship.
The Saluki women finished with 92 points in a nine-team, 75-runner field. Southeast Missouri State easily won the team title with 47 points, followed by Southern Indiana (68) and Indiana State (87) in the top-three.
Giat clocked in at 25:26 in the men's 8K race, while Beitler completed the 5K women's course in 18:18.78. Giat dominated his race, finishing 12 seconds in front of runner-up Joey Bryne of Southern Indiana, and 14 seconds in front of Missouri Valley Conference rival Isaiah Stafford of Indiana State.
Beitler edged out MVC rival Jessica Crowder of Indiana State by less than a second, and SIU also got another good performance by senior Katie Meehan, who placed fourth with a time of 18:41.27 in the final home meet of her SIU career.
Marion native Eli Baker added a 12th-place finish (26:21.79) for the men, and senior Jodi Huddlestun placed 15th (19:26.79) in her final home meet.
Tony LaChiana (28th, 27:19.21), Scott Mahon (38th, 27:36.57) and Steve Murray (41st, 27:45.53) rounded out the SIU men's top-five. Ty Davis (31st, 20:00.56) and Lindsey Campos (41st, 20:19.57) rounded out the women's top-five.
The Saluki men will return to action next Saturday at the Indiana State Pre Nationals. The Saluki women's next meet will be the MVC Championships on Nov. 16.
Players Mentioned
