It could have been said that Doron Giat was lying in the weeds if he weren’t running so fast.

Giat finished first in Saturday’s Saluki Fast Start Open by 15 seconds ahead of teammate Eli Baker, who led most of the 6-kilometer race, before being passed by Giat in the final stretch.

“That’s just typical Doron,” said men’s cross country coach Matt McClelland. “He just kind of hangs back and just waits and waits. Then he jumps after his prey. He really ran smart for this time of year. I’m really happy with his performance.”

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Chad Sierman finished third overall for Southeast Missouri State University in the un-scored meet.

Giat, who clocked in at a time of 19:41.03, only recently started training for the season.

“I started easy, not fast, because I’m not ready yet,” said Giat, who won last year’s Fast Start Open as well. “It’s only my second week of practicing. But I felt good, so I just pushed the 500 meters today. I’m happy I won.”

McClelland was pleased with the team’s overall performance.

“We finished one, two, four,” said McClelland. “I was pretty happy to see our top five in a race situation. We achieved what we set out to do. Now we have to move on. We’ve got about two weeks and we’ll head on to the next place. I’m looking forward to it.”

Baker (19:56.86) finished second while Tony LaChiana (20:30.73) finished fourth overall for SIU. Scott Mahon (21:24.44) and Ryan Hauser (21:29.33) rounded out the Salukis’ top five, finishing eighth and ninth respectively.

“I’m also very happy for my team,” Giat said. “They did a really good job and I think we’ll be a better team this year.”

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The men’s team will next compete on Sept. 14, when it travels to Columbia, Mo., for the Missouri Invitational.

Reporter Christopher Morrical can be reached at [email protected]