Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Dunbar named MVC Cross Country Athlete of the Week
10/19/2010 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Oct. 19, 2010
SIUSalukis.com
ST. LOUIS - This week's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Athletes of the Week are Dan Dunbar of Southern Illinois and Tonya Nero of Wichita State.
Dunbar made quite the statement Friday in Peoria, Ill., at the Bradley Classic, finishing fourth on the grueling 8K Newman Golf Course with a time of 24:12.00. The senior was the highest finisher among MVC runners, while also helping the Salukis finish second out of 21 teams in the team standings, ahead of DePaul, Missouri, and Northern Iowa, among others. This marks the third time this season that Dunbar has earned State Farm MVC Cross Country Male Athlete of the Week honors.
Nero was the top Missouri Valley Conference runner in a field of 261 athletes at the 2010 NCAA Pre-National meet on Saturday, Oct. 16. Nero finished 12th overall with a time of 20:38.00 in the "blue race", almost a full minute faster than her time last season at the NCAA Pre-National race (21:25.00). Nero's time was also only 21 seconds away from breaking the WSU record time of 20:17.90, set by Desiraye Osburn in 2005. She went up against several runners from nationally ranked schools including #3 Florida State, #6 Arizona, #11 Iowa State and #15 Princeton, among others. The Shockers placed 27th overall as a team.
The Saluki men also maintained their spot in the top 10 of the USTFCCCA Midwest Region for the sixth straight week in 2010, as they held on to eighth place. SIU is joined in the polls by Indiana State (seventh - Great Lakes Region), Northern Iowa (11th - Midwest), Drake (14th - Midwest), and Illinois State (15th - Midwest). For the women, Wichita State (ninth), Illinois State (12th), and Missouri State (15th) all maintained their rankings in the Midwest Region.
Players Mentioned
