SIU cross-country did not perform the way it hoped to this season, and the future of the program differs on the men’s and women’s sides.

As the season came to an end Nov. 14, the teams are looking forward to staying healthy in the off-season in preparation for next year.

Coach David Beauchem said the men were on the right page most of the season.

The men were led by the top-three runners: senior Michael Castel and juniors Juan Carrera and Oscar Medina.

Medina had the best year of the three runners and finished 23rd at the regional to earn his first career All-Region honor. He also earned his third straight All-Conference honor with his seventh place finish at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Medina also gained his first collegiate win this year.

“I was actually kind of surprised with the finish at regionals,” he said. “That was only my third time running a 10k, and every year I improved.”

Castel earned a sixth place finish at the conference meet and was named All-Conference in his first season at SIU.

Carrera earned his second All-Conference honor in three years.

“This season didn’t go as planned,” Carrera said. “But we finished out really well.”

He said the team expected to repeat as conference champions.

The men’s team will lose five of its 13 runners for next season to graduation, including Castel.

Beauchem said senior Matt Hazel was the most consistent runner outside the top-three.

Senior Nick Schrader was an All-Conference runner in 2012 and 2013 by earning seventh and fifth place finishes. This season, he finished 49th at the MVC Championships, seventh best on the team.

Beauchem said after the results from this season, he is confident Medina and Carrera can lead the team next year. He said sophomore Brandon Shemonia will improve and become the third runner for the team.

“I’m really excited for next year,” Medina said. “It’ll be nice to have a top-three again next year.”

The team has five freshmen, four of whom were redshirted this season.

Freshman Jonathan Vara was the only runner to race competitively this season, participating in three events. His best finish was 12th at the Saluki Invitational with a time of 26:36.4, but his best race came at the Notre Dame Invitational where he had a time of 26:29.0, good for 134th place.

“We raced Vara a lot this fall, which kind of sets him up to be on the fourth or fifth runner next year,” Beauchem said. “[Freshman] Josh Maier and [freshman] Kyle Carter are looking good as well.”

The women’s team is in for a completely different scenario next season. The team will lose its top runner, junior Kelley Gallagher. Academically, Gallagher is a senior, but does have a year of eligibility left. Gallagher said she will attend graduate school, so if she races again it will not be at SIU.

Gallagher was the top finisher for the Salukis in all but one event this season and earned an honorable mention for the All-Conference team with her 12th place finish at the MVC Championships.

Senior Tori Parry said Gallagher’s most impressive moment was her 17:00 finish at the ISU Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind.

“That is really hard to do,” she said. “17 minutes is a goal that a lot of people have.”

Along with Parry, the team will also lose seniors Sadie Darnell, Lacey Gibson and Mobola Rotibi.

The four were part of the team that won the 2013 MVC Championship and contributed to the team’s third-place conference finish this season.

Darnell finished fourth in last year’s MVC Championship race, earning a spot on the All-Conference team. This season, Darnell fought illness in October but still managed to be in the top-four runners on the team in all five events she raced in this season. She was full strength a week before regionals.

The team could also lose Allison Gallo, Kristen Levi, Sarah McIntosh, Krista Menghini and Elana Minsberg who are all academically seniors but have a year left of NCAA eligibility.

“It’s still to be determined what next year’s roster will look like,” Beauchem said. “Obviously it’ll be significantly different though.”

Menghini was the only All-Conference runner on the team this season, after her 10th place finish at the MVC Championships.

Levi earned a spot on the 2013 All-Conference team with a third place finish. She was also on the All-Region team after finishing 20th at the NCAA Regional. This season she only participated in two races, with her best finish coming at the ISU Pre-National, where she finished 43rd.

Beauchem said he will have to put a lot of emphasis on the team’s five freshman, four sophomores and next year’s recruits.

“The women’s side is going to have a significant recruiting base as to what next year’s team will look like,” Beauchem said. “Shannon [Effron] and Claire [Darnell], as far as the freshman go, will be who we look towards next year.”

Although the cross-country season is over, runners will compete in the spring during the track and field season, which Carrera said is a natural transition.

“It just builds,” he said. “When you have a good [cross-country] season, you can’t help but want to keep running. You start to feel weird not doing it.”

Brent Meske can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brentmeskeDE.