Southern Illinois University
Crimson Classic
Saluki Cross Country wraps up regular season at Crimson Classic
10/16/2015 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
By Rico Cruz
SIUSalukis.com
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- In the regular season finale on Friday, the Southern Illinois cross country teams competed in the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with the men's team earning an eighth place finish and the women's team finishing 23rd.
The one-two combination of Oscar Medina and Brandon Shemonia once again pushed the pace for the Salukis in a field that featured over 200 competitors. Medina put together a stellar performance, earning an 11th place finish with a time of 24:48.89 in the 8K race, while Shemonia took 23rd with his time of 25:13.80. Josh Maier was the third Saluki to cross the finish line, grabbing 31st place in 25:30.05. Rounding out the Saluki runners was Jonathan Vara (78th), Eli Hill (131st), and Denis O'Callaghan (188th).
"I thought that our first three guys handled the quality of the race off of our training pretty well," SIU head coach David Beauchem said. "Josh, Brandon, and Oscar certainly responded and really dug-in during the middle of the race and were strong."
In the women's 5K race, it was Krista Menghini who was at the front for the Salukis, finishing 52nd with a time of 18:10.15. The Fenton, Mo., native continues to give SIU a veteran presence, as she has been the first Saluki to cross the finish line in all four races this season. Natalia Hajduk finished near the top half of the field, earning a 142nd finish with her time of 19:21.64. Hillary Merrill (185th), Sasha Lanning (188th), Alexandra Martel (191st), Molly Barnes (216th), Emily Settle (222nd), and Paige Coddington (226th) finished the lineup for SIU.
"Krista has been training really well and she is racing ok, we just have to get her out a little farther and faster," Beauchem said. "Natalia certainly had the best race she has ran for us and I think that she is going to have a really good race for us in two weeks at the conference championships."
With the regular season in the books, SIU will have two weeks to prepare for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships on Oct. 31 in Evansville, Ind.
Players Mentioned
