EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Senior Aaron Werths (Granite City, Ill.) once again paced the men's cross country team on Saturday morning, as the Cougars competed in the SIUE John Flamer Invite.

Werths finished the 8K race in a time of 26 minutes, 8 seconds, which was good for a first place finish.

Freshman Clint Kliem (Burlington, Ill.) finished second with a time of 26:33.

"Our times could've been a little faster, but I was still pleased with our effort," Head Coach Eileen McAllister said.  "The guys stuck to our race plan from start to finish."

Saturday marked the second and final home meet of the season for SIUE, which also hosted the SIUE Cross Country Challenge on September 14.

Freshman Evan Morgeson (Imperial, Mo.) finished third for the Cougars with a time of 28:02, while fellow first-year runner Scott Woodard (Philo, Ill.) was right behind with a finish of 28:07.

"Our freshmen are continuing to adjust to the 8K race, which is longer than what they were used to at the high school level," McAllister added.

Saturday's meet was the final competition for SIUE before they travel to Jacksonville, Ala. for the OVC Championships on October 27.

"We're really excited to compete at conference for the first time," McAllister said.  "We just have to continue to prepare so we can compete at a high level in two weeks."