SIU’s cross country teams finished their 2015 conference season on Saturday in Evansville, Ind., at the Missouri Valley Championships. 

The men’s team finished fifth out of ten and the women’s team finished ninth.

Junior Brandon Shemonia led the men’s team, finishing third overall with a time of 24:01.83 in the 8k race.

Senior Oscar Medina was not far behind, finishing fifth overall in 24:04.85.

Both men received All-MVC honors for their top-10 finishes, setting personal bests in the process.

This was Shemonia’s first All-MVC selection and Medina’s fourth.

Freshman Josh Maier finished 27th in 25:07.57, sophomore Jonathon Vara came in 53rd at 26:35.76 and freshmen Eli Hill and Denis O’Callaghan came in 57th at 26:57.15, and 63rd at 28:26.27 respectively to round out the men’s team.

The women’s team came in ninth, led by senior Krista Menghini’s 5k time of 17:50.95. This performance put Menghini in 24th place overall.

Coach David Beauchem said earlier in the week that for the women, the meet would be all about getting experience for his younger runners as all six of his other runners were underclassmen.

Freshmen Natalia Hajduk, Alexandra Martel, Molly Barnes, Sasha Lanning, Emily Settle and sophomore Hillary Merrill all ran for the Salukis finishing 58th, 71st, 74th, 75th, 79th, and 67th respectively.

Sean Carley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @SCarleyDE