Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Cross country teams appear in regional rankings
10/04/2005 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Oct. 4, 2005
By Matt Crouch
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University men's and women's cross country teams made appearances this week in their respective regional rankings. The men's cross country team earned #15 in the Midwest Region in the Oct. 4 poll by the United States Cross Country Coaches Association while the women are #11 in the Midwest Region in the Oct. 2 Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association poll.
The men's team started the season ranked #12 in the preseason poll, but fell out after the first week. Prior to that, the Salukis had spent 15 consecutive weeks in the Midwest Region rankings.
The appearance in the Oct. 4 rankings comes after the Salukis finished 15th at the Lakeshore Invitational over the weekend, beating four other Missouri Valley Conference teams in the event.
Senior Joe Byrne made his first appearance of the season, as did freshman Mohamed Mohamed. Byrne and Mohamed led the Dawgs in the 8K event, finishing 26th and 45th, respectively, out of 270 runners.
The women's team finished first in the only event that it has scored as a team in, the EIU Panther Open.
The women competed at the Roy Griak Invitational Sept. 24, with four Salukis finishing the race. Junior Sarah Rinker led the team as she finished 22nd out of 287 runners in the field.
SIU returns to action this weekend as the team hosts the Saluki Invitational. The women will run a 5K beginning at 10 a.m. while the men will run an 8K beginning at 10:45 a.m.
United States Cross Country Coaches Association
Midwest Region
Poll #3 (10/4)
1 - University of Iowa
2 - University of Minnesota
3 - University of Kansas
4 - Oklahoma State University
5 - Loyola-Chicago
6 - Iowa State University
7 - University of Missouri
8 - University of Illinois
9 - Drake University
10 - University of Tulsa
11 - University of Oklahoma
12 - Eastern Illinois University
13 - Western Illinois University
14 - Kansas State University
15 - Southern Illinois University
Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association
Midwest Region
Poll #3 (10/2)
1 - University of Illinois
2 - University of Minnesota
3 - Oklahoma State University
4 - University of Missouri
5 - University of Iowa
6 - Wichita State University
7 - University of Nebraska
8 - Missouri State University
9 - University of Tulsa
10 - Loyola-Chicago
11 - Southern Illinois University
12 - Illinois State University
13 - University of Kansas
14 - Northwestern University
15 - Iowa State University
