November 8, 2003
With the second fastest time in school history and the second fastest time in the Great Lakes Regional in 2003, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Brian Taghon (East Moline) has qualified for the NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championships.
Taghon ran the 10,000-meter course in Hudsonville, Mich., in 31 minutes, 41.1 seconds. He was edged out by Wayne State's Nick Allen at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet. The SIUE sophomore runner's time also fell just short of SIUE's 10,000-meter record set by George Patrylak, who ran 31:38 in 1993.
Taghon advances to the national meet, which will be held Nov. 22. St. Augustine's College will play host to the men's and women's championships at SAS Park in Cary, N.C.
As a team, SIUE placed fifth overall. The top two teams advanced along with the some of the fastest individual runners.
Ryan Boyll, a junior, finished in seventh place and just fell out of range to make the trip to the national meet as an individual. His time of 31:55.4 earned him All-Region honors.
There were 136 runners in the event. SIUE had four runners among the top 50. Senior David Droege completed his collegiate career in 42nd place. Junior Jonathan Sadowski placed 50th. Freshman Jared Bierbaum fared well in his first regional meet at 56th place.
"This is a real exiting time for Cougar cross country," said SIUE Coach Darryl Frerker. "I believe this is the first time that an SIUE runner has advanced to the national meet since I started here."
NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships
Hudsonville, Mich. (10,000 meters)
Team Scores: Grand Valley State 46, Wayne State 50, Hillsdale 93, Southern Indiana 141, SIU Edwardsville 157, Ashland 158, Lewis 171, Indianapolis 187, Wisconsin-Parkside 249, Saginaw Valley State 318, Bellarmine 362, Lake Superior State 378, Michigan Tech 386, Northwood 408, Mercyhurst 441, Saint Joseph's 453, Northern Kentucky 473, Tiffin 484, Findlay 489, Ferris State 561.
Top 5 Individuals
1. Nick Allen, Wayne State 31:29.1
2. Brian Taghon, SIU Edwardsville 31:41.1
3. Mark Terpstra, Grand Valley State 31:41.1
4. Jeff Vyain, Grand Valley State 31:47.2
5. Michael Nikkila, Hillsdale 31:48.8
Other SIU Edwardsville Finishers
7. Ryan Boyll 31:55.4
42. David Droege 33:28.6
50. Jonathan Sadowski 33:40.2
56. Jared Bierbaum 33:47.7
69. Nick Campbell 34:17.4
86. Trae Cotner 34:41.1
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