Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Greater Louisville Classic
Saluki men finish fifth at Greater Louisville Classic
10/01/2011 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Oct. 1, 2011
By Robin Thuringer
SIUSalukis.com
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Southern Illinois cross country team competed in their largest meet of the season Saturday participating in the Greater Louisville Classic.
The men showed their strength against nationally ranked teams in the Gold 8K race placing fifth out of 29 teams. Senior Neal Anderson was once again the top finisher for the Saluki men placing 20th overall with a time of 24:30.16. Zach Dahleen followed closely behind posting a time of 24:33.85 to take the 23rd position.
"It was a great surprise to see Zach Dahleen finish right behind Neal Anderson," said SIU coach Matt Sparks."This is definitely what we need to compete for the Missouri Valley title."
Brian Dixon placed 42nd with a time of 24:54.10 and Lucas Cherry finished with a time of 24:58.33 to round out the top-50 competitors. T.J. Heffernan placed 74th with a time of 25:16.30.
"This was the men's best race of the season. Our top five did really well especially considering the field consisted of 300 runners."
Evan Ehrenheim and Kulayifi Haji also competed for the men placing 114th and 122nd, respectively.
The young SIU women's team struggled placing 24th in the Gold 5K run. Jamie Pfister was the top Saluki finisher placing 80th overall with a time of 18:20.17. Lacey Gibson finished 85th with a time of 18:23.14. Eileen Schweiss and Sarah McIntosh finished 144th and 155th, respectively.
"This was an eye opening experience for the women with the team consisting of mostly freshman and sophomores. Many of them have never competed in a meet as large as this one, we weren't as prepared as we had hoped."
Tori Parry, Sadie Darnell, and Jamie Hershfang also competed for the women. Previous top finisher Kelley Gallagher was out sick and unable to compete for the Saluki women.
The men of Purdue University and the women of the University of Michigan took home the team titles.
The Salukis will have the next weekend off before they head to Evansville, Ind. to compete in the Evansville Invitational on Sat., Oct. 15.
Players Mentioned
