The Salukis have concluded their season, as they defeated some of the biggest colleges in the country.

The SIU cross-country teams competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Regionals Friday as the women marked another day in SIU history by completing the Salukis’ highest regional finish.

Although the men and women did not qualify for Nationals, the teams still sprinted past some of the toughest competition, running against schools such as Oklahoma State University, Iowa State University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Kansas.

The women finished the 6K race in fourth place with 217 points. Six of seven SIU runners finished within the top 100. The women finished eight places better than their 2012 season.

Sophomore Kristen Levi finished in 20th place with a time of 20:59.43, completing the race first for SIU. This is Levi’s second consecutive win after contributing to SIU’s MVC Championship history race.

Levi has become a top competitor for SIU and thinks her team has become a more competitive team than last year. At the beginning of the season the Salukis set a goal to reach top-10 in Regionals.

“I think we’ve accomplished everything that we wanted and more,” Levi said. “All of our goals that we set were either met or exceeded so it’s really encouraging to have that feedback.”

Coach Matt Sparks said Levi is one of Southern’s vocal leaders with a fiery personality.

“On any team you need a variety of leaders,” Sparks said. “And intensity is what Kristen brings to the table.”

Junior Sadie Darnell, who has not finished lower than third place for SIU all season is another leader for the cross-country women.

Over the course of the season, the women became a strong power team. Last season, the Saluki women won only two races, but this year they came away with four first place titles.

Sophomore Kelley Gallagher finished second for SIU in the regional race with a time of 21:02.18. Last season, Gallagher finished in the top-20 four times and in the top-10 twice.

Completing the NCAA race in the top-25, Gallagher and Levi earned All-Midwest Region honors; something a Saluki has no t done since 2005.

After earning much success this season, Gallagher said the dynamic of the women’s team has changed drastically.

“It’s so nice that we are all around the same age and all of us are returning,” Gallagher said. “We all grew so close by working together as a team and running together as a pack.”

During the men’s 10K Regional race, the Salukis finished in 11th place out of 29 schools. They racked up 349 points, defeating schools such as Iowa State University, South Dakota University, and Loyola University.

The men finished with four in the top-100. Junior Nick Schrader finished first for SIU with a time of 31:20.94. Sophomore Oscar Medina paced himself to a 31:26.84 finish, senior Brian Dixon finished at 31:57.04, and senior Zach Dahleen ran 32:01.59.

Although the SIU women finished Regional’s better than last year, the men did not do quite as well. Last season the Salukis finished in ninth place, two places better than this year.

Sparks said he is to take partial blame for the men’s performance, as none of them performed as well as he expected.

“Nobody ran well and that’s where I’ll take responsibility for that,” Sparks said. “When the entire team struggles that’s where you have to look at the program as a whole and look at what we need to do to get better.”

Dahleen and Dixon, two veterans who have been vocal leaders for SIU, will not be a part of the team after this year. Schrader, who has completed each race within the top three for SIU will be returning for 2014.

“There’s no regrets or anything, but we just wanted to do better,” Schrader said. “But going forward we are all ready to do it all again and come back stronger.

Schrader said he is slightly disappointed in his individual performance, but is happy with making All-Conference.

“We were all in a good place, but I guess we ran out of gas,” Schrader said. “It happens though, we all have our off days.”

The Salukis’ anticipated track and field event, Saluki Fast Start, will be held Dec. 7, but Sparks has given the cross-country teams a break, and the cross-country runners will then begin their track and field season on Jan. 10.

Symone Woolridge can be reached at 

[email protected] 

or ext. 536-3311 ext. 269