EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Senior Aaron Werths (Granite City) and freshman Clint Kliem (Burlington) finished third and fourth, respectively, as the SIUE men's cross country team hosted the SIUE Cross Country Challenge Friday evening.

The competition was fierce as the top eight finishers at the SIUE Cross Country Course all topped the course record since it was reconfigured in 2010.

After the race, SIUE Head Coach Eileen McAllister said she thought the atmosphere was great at the Cougars' first of two home meets this season.

"It was perfect," McAllister said.  "I thought the environment was fantastic with so many other athletes and parents out here.  I know that our athletes appreciate that."

Werths smashed his 8K time from the season-opening EIU Walt Crawford Open a week ago, finishing Friday's race in 25 minutes, 36.66 seconds.  The time was good for a third-place finish, as well as a personal best that was almost 40 seconds faster than his time last week.

Kliem continued to impress in the early stages of his Cougar career, posting a time of 25:45.48.  He finished fourth out of 59 runners.

"I'm very happy (for Aaron and Clint), ecstatic actually," McAllister said after the race.  "Those times are both really fast, and for them to PR like that and just smash what they've done previously; I can't express how happy I am."

Freshmen Scott Woodard (Philo) and Evan Morgeson (Imperial, Mo.) also posted personal bests for the Cougars, while sophomore Frankie Sottosanto (Plainfield) finished better than 80 seconds faster than he did at the Walt Crawford Open.

The Cougars now have a week off from competition before they travel to Louisville, Ky., for the Greater Louisville Classic on Sept. 29.

"We're very excited for Louisville," McAllister added.  "It will be a huge meet since they host nationals this year.  I'm really excited about what we can do out there."