Gans Creek Classic Next for Cross Country

Friday, September 27

Columbia, MO

6 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

Gans Creek Classic

09/26/2019 | 11:30:00 | Cross Country

By: Brandon Lindholm, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The men and women's cross country teams will travel to Columbia, Mo. to take part in the first-ever Gans Creek Classic, hosted by the University of Missouri on Friday, Sept. 27.

The Salukis will be up against some stiff competition in a field of teams that includes Drake, Illinois State, Missouri, North Florida, SEMO, SLU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UAB and UMKC. Weather could prove to be an issue as the temperature is expected to hit a humid 86 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms.

"I try and tell my kids to worry about things they can control, and the weather isn't one of those things," said fourth-year cross country head coach Kevin Cataldo. "Luckily, where we're located, we deal with hot and humid conditions. I think you have to go out a little bit more conservative. You can't go out and press because you're going to fade out later on."

While the weather could be a factor in the race, a bigger unknown lurks ahead for Cataldo and his teams. Gans Creek, the site of Friday's race, is the University of Missouri's brand-new course and features a 600-meter long starting chute, a 2,000-meter loop and a 3,000-meter loop.

"I know is that they pumped upwards to a million dollars into this course and it's supposed to be state-of-the-art," said Cataldo. "We ran at Wisconsin a year ago, which is a pretty similar course. There's rolling hills, but I hear the course is really fast. Unfortunately for cross country, you don't look for fast marks. That's for track. You look for place and a finish."

The women are slated to begin their first 6K of the year at 5 p.m. against a field that includes three top-15 regionally ranked teams led by Texas A&M, who are No. 3 in the South Central Region. Missouri (Midwest, No. 5) and North Florida (South, No. 14) are also regionally ranked on the women's side.

"The women get to race 6K for the first time this season, and they'll run it again at the regional meet," Cataldo said. "I think that there is a great mixture of teams at this time of the year to get into preparation for championships down the road."

The men are pegged to begin their 8K at 5:30 p.m. against a field that includes four top-15 regionally ranked programs led by Texas A&M, who are ranked No. 3 in the South Central Region. Missouri (Midwest, No. 9), North Florida (South, No. 9) and Drake (Midwest, No. 12) are also regionally ranked on the men's side.

"The men will get another 8K under their belt, although they run 10K at regionals" said Cataldo. "They will get that feel of a field that will be similar in terms of competition."

The men's side will be led by sophomore Reid Parsons, who won his first collegiate meet at the Saluki Invite and followed it up with 14^th-place finish at the ISU Invite two weeks ago. Parsons will be joined by Cain Hassim, Chris Edwards, JT Hodges, Michael Church and Jacob DeWitt, who will be making his season debut Friday.

On the women's side, Megan Krolak, Olivia Murphy, Rachel Anderson, Fallon Russell, Maddy Hurt, Grace McDurmon, Madison Decker, Sydney Spranger and Sydney Matusik are all expected to run for the Salukis.

"I think it will be a great experience for the kids," said Cataldo. "This is a course that could eventually host the regional meet and a down the road a national championship. To get a preview of it and be a part of one of the first meet Mizzou is holding is exciting."

Schedule of Events
11:00 a.m. – Course Opens
4:00 p.m. – Course Dedication Ceremony
4:50 p.m. – National Anthem
5:00 p.m. – Women's 6K Race
5:30 p.m. – Men's 8K Race
6:30 p.m. – Award Ceremony

Follow Along
Live results will be tracked and can be found here.
Click here to view the meet info, including a map of the brand new Gans Creek course.

For the latest updates on the Salukis, follow the team on Twitter (@SIUTrackXC), Instagram (@SIUTrackXC) and Facebook (@SalukiTrackAndField).