COLUMBIA, Mo. - SIUE cross country competed in the Gans Creek Classic Friday morning. The men's cross-country team finished 34th out of 36 teams, while the women's team finished 35th out of 38 team.
 
"We ran extremely well in what was likely a tougher field than our regionals, with many strong teams trying to preview next year's nationals' course,"assistan coach Joshua Wolfe said.
 
For the SIUE women's team seven of the nine runners had a personal best, including freshman Erica Woodard, who finished 158th out of 330 with a PR time of 22:08.0 finishing. Woodard's time ranks 13 in all-time top 6,000 meters, and first among all-time top Freshman 6,000- meter times.
 
Following Woodard were Mia Loafman (22:56.2 / 233), Sophia Harrison (23:01.2 / 240), Emilee Franklin (23:49.1 / 239), Ana Keller (23:58.7 / 296).
 
Senior Tyler Guthrie led the men's team placing 200th out of 320 finishing with a time of 25:27.0. He was followed by Tanner Emerson (25:43.0 / 232), Jackson Edwards (26:11.7 / 269), and Logan Luttrell (26:51.4 / 238).
 
For the men, four out of seven runners ran a career bests, with D'Andre Watson placing 275th overall achieving a career best of 26:16.8, which is 1:01 faster than his previous mark.
 
"This group really stepped up and competed with some of the best teams in the country," Wolfe said. "We're thrilled with how quickly our young women are adapting to the 6k, and how the young men are adapting to the 8k. We have two more meets to prep for conference, so we'll continue to build through our training with the goal of putting our best foot forward at the OVC championships."