Positive and strong. That is how SIUC cross-country finished its regular season Saturday.

Both the men and women’s teams accomplished everything they wanted to, preparing for the Missouri Valley Conference meet Oct. 29.

The men traveled to Fayetteville, Ark. to participate in the Chile Pepper Invitational, and did everything coach Bill Cornell had set out to do.

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Junior Stelios Marneros led the team to a fifth-place finish by placing 20th out of 78 runners, but Cornell said he was proud of what the team had accomplished in the meet.

The Salukis finished behind a team of the University of Arkansas Alumni, Lubbock Christian College, 5th-ranked Oklahoma State, and 6th-ranked Arkansas, but did defeat 27th-ranked SMU which the team had their eyes on.

We didn’t expect to beat those teams (top four finishers), but we went down there to beat SMU because they’re ranked 27th in the nation, Cornell said.

A tough course served as a test for the men, but Cornell said the course may have been only six miles long instead of the regular 6.2 miles.

The Arkansas coach agreed with me about the times being fast for the course, and that it may have been a little short, he said. The course was tough though. We were either running up a hill, down a hill, or on the side of a hill.

While the men took care of business as usual, the women traveled to Charleston and ran their strongest performance of the season.

Junior co-captain Kim Koerner won her second consecutive race on the doorstep of the Eastern Illinois Panthers, and led the team to a first-place finish.

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The only team coming close to defeating the strong running Saluki harriers was the University of Missouri-Kansas City. SIUC finished with an outstanding 25 points, while second place U of M-KC cruise-controlled their way to 51 points.

SIUC placed five runners in the top eight, and the success of the team can be attributed to the stepping-up by freshmen Sharlene Downing(eighth), Colleen Bouck(seventh), and Raina Larsen(fifth). Sophomore co-captain Kelly French also led by example, placing fourth.

Downing said she is becoming confident about running on the college level and is finding the thirst of competitiveness.

I’m really happy. This is a break-through for me, she said. In the beginning of the year, I wasn’t able to be competitive in the middle of the pack, but now I’m starting to get that competitiveness.

Downing also said the other freshmen on the team were gaining confidence in their abilities to run on the college level.

Don (SIUC coach Don DeNoon) and the upperclassmen keep telling us we can do it, she said.

After winning the Martin Foods/ Saluki Invitational on Oct. 7, and winning at Eastern, Koerner said she can not point the finger at anything in particular as the reason for her recent success.

I’m doing some things differently, but I really don’t know, she said. It might be the pool training I’m doing, or it may be the experience of a few years paying off. I’m definitely running stronger than I ever have before.

DeNoon said the team is running strong and he is proud of the performances at Eastern, but he is still uncertain about the team’s next meet, the Missouri Valley Conference meet Oct. 29.

Who knows what will happen, he said. I don’t think the pressure will have anything to do with it. I think it will depend on how they feel. We’re going to hit it (training) pretty hard this week, and then ease up the week before the meet.