CHARLESTON, Ill. – SIUE men's cross country placed three runners among the top eight and finished second as a team overall Friday at the EIU Walt Crawford Open.
"They competed really well. They turned some heads. People were talking about them," said SIUE Head Coach Eileen McAllister. "Other people didn't expect them to be up there."
Host Eastern Illinois was the team champion with 27 points followed by SIUE's 59. In head-to-head duals with the three other Division I schools, SIUE was 2-1 with victories over Evansville and Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State.
Sophomore Nick Moore led SIUE runners with an 8,000-meter time of 25 minutes, 44.46 seconds. His personal best time was good enough for third place overall.
"I was just trying to get a PR and was able to by about 20 seconds," said the Cougar sophomore. "I was pretty excited about that."
Clint Kliem, also a sophomore, was a mere three seconds behind Moore and took fourth overall in a time of 25:47.61.
Scott Woodard, who placed 30th at the EIU Walt Crawford Open just one season ago, made a big move this season with an eighth-place finish in a time of 26:04.27.
Freshman Keith Meyer was among SIUE's second pack of runners and finished 26th in his first collegiate meet. His season-opening time was 26:57.93.
Luke Padesky finished 31st in his first meet as a Cougar. The junior transfer completed the course in 27:11.40.
"We expect Luke to progress and drop his times as he gets more fit. He was limited in his training this summer because of injuries," said McAllister.
Evan Morgeson (27:52.50/47th) and Noah Isbell (28:49.45) rounded out the field for the Cougars.
"It was a solid start, but we can't settle," said McAllister. "They have to keep getting faster, and our fourth and fifth runners have to get better."
SIUE's next two meets will be on its home course. The Cougars play host to the SIUE CC Challenge next Friday.
