Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
EIU Open
Josh Maier Wins EIU Crawford Open
09/03/2016 | 3:45:00 | Cross Country
Men's and Women's Teams Place Third
Men's Results
Women's Results
Double Dual Results
The Southern Illinois University cross country team kicked off its season at the EIU Walt Crawford Open, claiming three top-10 finishes overall, en route to a third-place finish for both the men's and women's squads.
Second-year runner Josh Maier highlighted an all-around successful day for the Salukis as he won the men's race with a time of 24:56.59. It marks the Alsip, Ill. native's first collegiate victory, and he did so in decisive fashion, blowing away the competition by finishing 13 seconds faster than the runner-up.
Junior Jonathon Vara clinched a career-best finish of fourth place with a time of 25:37.55. Freshman Chris Edwards made his SIU debut, finishing as the third fastest Saluki, 28th overall, in 27:33.81 at the first meet of the season.
SIU-Carbondale's men finished with 55 team points, finishing behind second-place SIU-Edwardsville, and the winning host-team Eastern Illinois.
On the women's side, five runners placed in the top-20 of the EIU meet. Junior Natalia Hajduk was the highest placing Saluki, ending the season opener with an eighth-place finish in 18:42.06, both career bests. Her previous career-best finish of 27th place came at the same meet last season.
Junior Hillary Merrill was the next fastest SIUC runner, claiming 14th place while sophomore Molly Barnes finished 20th.
Freshman Olivia Murphy and junior transfer Kelly O'Shea each made their debuts for the maroon and white. O'Shea, a former NJCAA All-American, finished 17th ahead of Murphy, a Louisiana state champion, who claimed 18th in her first race as a Saluki.
The women's team settled for 3rd place with 76 points, also behind SIU-E and host Eastern Illinois.
SIU's next race is set to start next Friday when the teams travel to St. Louis for the Forest Park Cross Country Festival.
Players Mentioned
