LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The SIUE women's cross country team ran in the Greater Louisville Classic Saturday morning, where they were forced to race amongst a huge field of 321 athletes.

Junior Claire Brown (Petersburg) was the team's leading runner, finishing the 5K race in 115th place with a time of 19:23.59.

"I felt like the girls competed well, but we just didn't get out fast enough," Head Coach Eileen McAllister said.  "We couldn't get far enough up in the pack, so the overall results weren't as good as we had hoped."

Sophomore Katie Trettenero (Staunton) ran in her first race of the season after battling injuries early on, and posted a personal best of 20:30.28.

Freshman Conradette King (Jefferson City, Mo.) also ran her best race of the season so far, finishing in 20:31.26.

Despite the tough environment, McAllister still thought there were positives to be taken away from Saturday's race.

"It was good for our younger runners to see a big race like this," McAllister said.  "Our mistakes were more tactical than physical, and they are things we can correct."

The Cougars will now prepare for their second home meet of the season, the John Flamer Invite on Oct. 13.  The meet will serve as SIUE's final race before OVC Championships on Oct. 27.