SIU cross country closes regular season at Angel Mounds Invitational

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The Southern Illinois cross country teams wrapped up their final regular-season meet at the Angel Mounds Invitational on Friday, showing steady progress on both the men's and women's sides as they continue preparing for the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference Championships.

For the men, SIU finished 10th overall in the 8K with 254 points. Senior Ben Chance once again led the Salukis, running 24 minutes, 59.37 seconds to place 29th in the Division I field. He was followed closely by Will Foltz (42nd, 25:21.64), Weston Jokerst (46th, 25:24.52), Calen George (55th, 25:30.34) and Brady Faulkner (82nd, 26:19.21) to round out the team's top five.

Head coach Angelina Ramos said she's seeing the men's group develop strong consistency at the right time of year.

"Our men are becoming more consistent and dependable at packing up and running together and performing within their bandwidth of their best 8K effort—now it's time to sharpen for conference for them to unleash the collective race I know they have inside of them," Ramos said. "Their team chemistry is in the best place yet, and I know that bodes well for another strong showing at conference because I truly believe this group of men are running for each other and each care towards that mission equally."

On the women's side, the Salukis placed 15th in the 6K with 382 points, led by Hannah Meiser, who clocked 22:16.83 for 31st overall. Riley Linville ran a lifetime-best 22:51.66 for 58th, while Savanna Franzen (88th, 24:01.38), Audrey Boles (99th, 24:25.44) and Brodie Denny (106th, 24:36.19) rounded out the scoring.

Ramos said the women are still working through lingering health setbacks and rebuilding after some challenging months.

"The women have a lot of work to do to get where we need to be," Ramos said. "Still trying to revive a few back from respiratory illnesses, and immune systems weren't fully back as quickly as we'd hoped. After the car accident Hannah Meiser was in during March 2025, we've been retraining her biomechanics post arm break and building back for the outdoor track season missed. Today was a 30-second improvement on two weeks ago and a critical step in the right direction toward where I know she can be."

Ramos added that Linville's performance was a highlight of the meet.

"Riley Linville got a 6K personal best by 32 seconds and is trending the right way," Ramos said. "However, Riley is very believed in and I wouldn't be surprised if she shaved another 60 to 70 seconds off of that by racing more aggressive in championship season. Riley has a history in high school of being a championship racer and made her high school coach cry happy tears when she ran her final high school state race coming down the Missouri Gans Creek 5K homestretch in 18:35, her final race in uniform, and I believe Riley will step up and bring me to tears at conference."

View a full breakdown of the meet here.

UP NEXT
The Salukis will now shift their focus toward the MVC Championships, where both teams aim to peak for their best performances of the season.

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For updates on the Saluki cross country and track and field programs, follow the team on X (@SalukiTrackXC), Instagram (@SIUTrackXC), and Facebook (@SalukiTrackandField).

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