Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Cross Country travels to Lakefront Invitational
09/29/2006 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Sept. 29, 2006
By Matt Crouch
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Following a week break after the Eastern Illinois Panther Open, the Southern Illinois University cross country teams return to action Saturday, Sept. 30 at the 34th Annual Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational.
Sponsored by Nike and Fleet Feet and hosted by Loyola University-Chicago, the event will feature 69 colleges, 52 high schools and 16 elementary schools in 10 different races, making it one of the largest cross country meets in the nation.
"The meet is a good tune-up for the regional meet here in about six weeks because it is such a large field. There will be more than 250 runners in both races, so approximately 25 teams (in the Collegiate Gold Division)," said SIU head cross country coach Matt Sparks.
"The men and women on our team are excited to go to this meet because a lot of our athletes are from the Chicago area, so it gives them a chance to go home and have family and friends watching them run."
Even with the large and competitive field, Sparks expects both squad to have a good showing at the meet.
"Both teams should finish in the top five overall. We would like to see, individually, all five of our scores finish in the top 25. For the freshman, it will be a new experience, it will be similar to what they have experienced at a high school-level state meet, so it will be interesting to see how they react," said Sparks.
The Lakefront Invitational is the first action for the Salukis since the EIU Panther Open on Sept. 15. The men's team won the Panther Open with sophomore Mohamed Mohamed leading the way in fourth place. The women's team came in second place behind nationally-ranked Wisconsin as freshman A'Seret Dokubo leading the team with a 10th-place finish.
"On the men's side, I just hope to build upon the success that we had at the Panther Open. I would like to see our fifth man on the men's side be a little closer to our two freshmen, Jeff and Tyler. The luxury that we have with the men's team is great depth, now we just need to bring that depth to the front of the pack," said Sparks.
"On the women's side, I think they had an awakening against a tough Wisconsin squad at Eastern Illinois. They realized that they need to reinvest in their focus in the sport. That was a good wake-up call for them and they have a renewed commitment for cross country."
Southern Illinois will be one of more than 20 teams in its division at the meet. Also competing are the University of Alabama (Women only), Chicago State University, Creighton University, Edinboro University, Grand Valley State University, University of Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State University, Illinois XC & Track Club (Men only), Loyola University-Chicago, Malone University, Marquette University, Marshall University, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Northwestern University (Women only), Saginaw Valley State University (Men only), St. Xavier University (Men only), Southwest Baptist University, University of Chicago, University of Western Ontario, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Western Illinois University.
Action in the Lakefront Invitational is set to begin with the men's 8K race on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. at Montrose Avenue Beach in Chicago. The women will follow with a 5K race beginning at 1 p.m.
