Freshman cross-country runner Andrew Fooks can truly say he has run from sea to shining sea.

Few runners get the opportunity to run in both Europe and North America, but the native of Somerset, England got the chance when SIUC coach Bill Cornell came knocking.

I heard of Andy through the recruiting agency, and it said he had run a 9:20 steeplechase, but that is nothing real special. Then, Neil Lisk and Mark Russell (also from England) came to me and said he ran well in the senior meet, and told me this guy was a lot better than a 9:20, Cornell said. We gave him a call and started recruiting him before anyone else got the news. He signed and did nothing but improve over the year.

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Earlier this season, Fooks ran a 8:56 steeplechase, which is three seconds faster than SIUC Missouri Valley Conference champion Garth Akel, who the Salukis lost to graduation.

We knew then that Andy was a top recruit, and a good replacement for Akel, Cornell said.

Ironically, co-captain Stleios Marneros, the team’s No. 1 runner, and last year’s MVC individual champion, was the one running behind Akel last season.

Through the cross-country regular season, Fooks anchored the No. 2 spot on the team behind Marneros, and led a talented group of freshmen on the quest for national recognition and a Missouri Valley Conference title.

Success has found a way to follow Fooks through his life and across the Atlantic ocean. While running in England, Fooks was ranked No. 1 in Great Britain in the under-23 steeplechase, ran for the Great Britain national team, and placed 11th in the national competition.

His performances have been nothing but excellent through this season. He has finished behind Marneros, who Cornell regards as the consistent key man for the team, in every race with the exception of this season’s first meet of the season.

In the one meet he finished lower than second, Sept. 2 vs. powerhouse Kansas and Southern Indiana, Fooks finished one second behind fellow freshman and teammate Jeremy Parks for third place on the team and fourth overall at the meet.

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Cornell assigned walk-on freshman Ben Basalay as Fooks’ roommate and freshmen standout, twin brothers Jeremy and Joseph Parks, as their suitemates. He hoped having an American roommate would make the transition for Fooks easier.

While Carbondale is not home for Fooks, being a member of the Saluki cross-country team has given him teammates from back home. Senior Mark Russell(England), senior Neil Lisk(Wales), and Marneros(Cypress) round out a core of athletes on the team from Europe.

The biggest adjustment is being away from home, Cornell said. You just have to take it easy on them for the first couple of weeks. He’s really well accepted by the team, and it always helps to have someone in the same boat as you.

Fooks said his teammates and Cornell have helped him make the adjustments to living in Carbondale, both as an athlete and a student.

It was really hard, very hard to make the transition. The last four to six weeks, I just felt homesick and tired, he said. It definitely helps to have people that went through the same thing as you. They have experience.

Leadership and an example to follow are readily available for Fooks, as Cornell went through some of the same adjustments. Cornell, a former Saluki track All-American and native of England, came to SIUC in 1961 on a track scholarship. Cornell was a three-time All-American, a U.S. Track and Field Federation Champion and SIUC’s Athlete of the Year in 1962.

He’s certainly helped me out, Fooks said. He was the first to offer me a full scholarship, and he obviously understands my position.

Fooks said he wanted to come to the United States for good competition and the opportunity to study, and had roughly five or six options other than SIUC.

I had the choices of Iowa State and some school in Kentucky, but I can’t remember the names, he said. They’re all foreign to me.

Cornell said Fooks does nothing but get stronger; just like every other runner he has recruited from England.

When they come over here, they get better because they have more time to train, he said. Over there(England), they have to go to school and work because they don’t have scholarships.

Cornell also said, even though four of his eight runners are from overseas, he looks for Illinois athletes first, but still looks back home for athletes like Fooks.

I look for recruits anywhere I can get them, because recruiting’s tough, he said. With so many Division-I schools competing to sign recruits, it’s really hard. I have to admit, we like to look across the water a little bit.