Cross Country Heads to Peoria for NCAA Regional
Nov. 9, 2007
On Your Mark: A select number of Saint Louis cross country runners will compete at Saturday's NCAA Midwest Regional in Peoria, Ill., for a chance at qualifying for the NCAA Championship. The men's 10K gets underway at 11 a.m., followed by the women's 6K at 12:15 p.m. Last Time Out: Mary Moloney and Steve Vargas led their respective squads at the Atlantic 10 Championship two weeks ago. Moloney and Laura Coyer each turned in top-25 times in helping the Billikens to a seventh-place finish, their best showing in three years as a member of the A-10. The men's squad turned in a 12th-place finish on a slow, wet and sloppy course at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia. What's on the Line?: The top four men's and women's teams at the NCAA Midwest Regional advance to the NCAA Championship at Indiana State University on Nov. 19. In addition, the top two individual finishers not on one of the advancing teams also secure a spot in the NCAA Championship. Weekly Accolades: After breaking the 8K school record at the Brooks Memphis Twilight last month, senior Steve Vargas received the first weekly honor in men's cross country program history. In 2000, Aimee Walther garnered Conference USA Runner of the Week accolades, the lone weekly honor on the women's side. Polling Place: In the final regular-season vote conducted by the league's head coaches, the SLU women's squad bumped up into fifth place in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference, while the men's team was elevated to an eighth-place ranking. Both rankings are an improvement from the 10th-place ranking the teams experienced at the beginning of the year.
Down the Road: If no runners qualify for the NCAA Championship, the squad will begin preparations for the indoor track and field campaign, which kicks off Dec. 7 with a meet at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill. New Coach: The Billikens are in their first season under interim head coach Jon Bell. Bell has spent time on coaching staffs at Utah Valley State, Emporia State and St. Mary's (Minn.) University. The Atlantic 10 Conference: Saint Louis wrapped up its third season as a member of the A-10 with a seventh-place (women's) and 12th-place (men's) finish at the A-10 Championship in Philadelphia. La Salle captured both the men's and women's titles at the event. Front Runners: Vargas, Brian Holdmeyer and Mat Stuber comprise the top three on the men's 8K performance list this season. The trio posted the team's top times at the Brooks Memphis Twilight. Vargas crossed the line in a school-record 25:10.63, while Holdmeyer and Stuber finished in 25:54.11 and 25:56.65, respectively. All three of those times were personal bests.
Leading the Pack: On the women's side, Laura Coyer and Moloney have combined to post the top four 5K times on the season performance list. Brigette Schutzmann, who did not participate at the A-10s, and Laura Peabody round out the top eight. Youth is Served: Underclassmen Brian Holdmeyer and Neal Rodrigues appear in the top 10 on SLU's men's performance list. Holdmeyer's 25:54.11 at the Brooks Memphis Twilight is the second fastest 8K time this season. Rodrigues has steadily improved all season, and he culminated his regular season with a PR of 26:26 at the Bradley Classic. At the A-10 Championship, he finished second among the Billikens. Meanwhile, a trio of sophomores have posted top 10 times on the women's side. Schutzmann (18:55.11), Peabody (19:02.32) and Molly Burke (19:20.90) appear on the 5K list courtesy of season-best times at the Brooks Memphis Twilight. Bell's Bits: "We want to continue with the same theme we have been following all season, and that is to go out and try to inch our way closer to some of the top teams in our region. For this weekend, our goal is to run well and put ourselves on the cusp of possibly being ranked in the region next year." |
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