Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Salukis set for MVC Championships this Saturday
10/30/2008 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Oct. 30, 2008
By Megan Kramper
www.SIUSalukis.com
Springfield, Mo. - The men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Springfield, Mo. this Saturday to compete in the MVC Championships, hosted by Missouri State.
The men's squad is the defending champions with 2007 Runner of the Year Jeff Schirmer leading the way for the Salukis and A'Seret Dokubo, the ninth place finisher for the women, who finished in seventh place.
"The MVC Championship is something we build around 52 weeks a year. We have had a solid year of development since the last championship and both teams feel confident going into the meet," said Head coach Matt Sparks.
In the pre-championship polls announced this week, the men are expected to finish at No. 1 while the women came in at No. 3.
The men will also be led by Dan Dunbar, Kyle Kirchner, and Jason Ordway, who all finished in the top 30.
"The men have run like champions all year and I expect them to maintain that level of competitiveness," Sparks said.
On the women's side, Emily Toennies, Megan Hoelscher, and Jamie Pfister will provide competitiveness to the field as they try to chase runners from Missouri State and Wichita State, who finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the pre-championship poll, respectively.
"Throughout the season we have not raced many teams from the Valley and therefore few people know you fit and talented these ladies are," Sparks said."I think the women will surprise some people this weekend."
The meet will kick off with the 5K race at 12:00 p.m. with the men's 8K race to follow at approximately 12:45 p.m.
Players Mentioned
