Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Cross Country heads to NCAA Midwest Regional Championship
11/10/2010 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Nov. 10, 2010
By Michael Benson
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois cross country teams will make a return trip to Peoria, Ill., this Saturday, as they are set to compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships at the Newman Golf Course.
The meet will begin at 11 a.m. with the women's 6K race, followed by men's competition at 12:15 p.m.
The Salukis will be facing stiff competition in both races, as the field includes 33 schools from from 10 conferences, including the Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, and Missouri Valley.
SIU will be looking to improve on their success from two weeks ago, when senior Dan Dunbar captured the MVC men's title en route to a second place team finish. Meanwhile, Emily Toennies and Megan Hoelscher captured fourth a fifth place, respectively, to vault the women's team into sixth at the MVC Championships.
The Dawgs enter Saturday with an impressive streak of individual success, as one SIU runner has qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships each of the last three years and in four of the last five. Jeff Schirmer qualified in 2008 and 2009, while Mohamed Mohamed (2007) and Joe Byrne (2005) also advanced to the national championship.
The top two teams earn automatic berths to the NCAA Championships, which will be held Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind. Additionally, the top four individuals that are not from either of the qualifying teams will garner a spot at the national meet.
Should the Salukis not finish first or second, they will wait to see if they earn one of the 13 at-large bids to Terre Haute on Nov. 14 when the NCAA unveils the entire field of teams.
