CHARLESTON, Ill. – The SIUE men's cross country team competed despite some severe storms in the area on Friday as it kicked off the 2012 season at the EIU Walt Crawford Open.
As a team, the Cougars finished sixth out of 12 teams with 159 points.
A strong storm in the Charleston area forced the men's 8K race to run alongside the women's 5K competition. Originally, the women were scheduled to run 45 minutes prior to the men.
As the men's 8K race was concluding, a second storm rolled through before a tornado warning was issued. Fortunately, both the men's and women's races were able to finish.
"I was pleased with how we handled the adversity especially for how young we are," SIUE Head Coach Eileen McAllister said. "It was chaotic at times but I felt they stayed focused."
Leading the way for the Cougars was senior Aaron Werths (Granite City) who finished 14th out of 131 runners, posting a time of 26:13.52.
Right behind Werths was freshman Clint Kliem (Burlington), who got his collegiate career off to a great start with a 15th-place finish, finishing in 26:14.87.
Fellow freshman Scott Woodard (Philo) also was impressive in his first race as a Cougar, placing 30th with a time of 27:00.97.
Also competing for SIUE was freshman Evan Morgeson (Imperial, Mo.) who finished with a time of 28.09.49, and sophomore Frankie Sottosanto (Plainfield) who crossed the finish line at 29:20.96.
Next up for the Cougars is the first of two home meets this season, as they host the SIUE Cross Country Challenge on Friday.
"I'm very glad we were able to race," McAllister added. "We needed to get this first one under our belts. It will be great to race at home next week."
