AMES, Iowa – All five SIUE runners posted personal bests Friday at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships at the Iowa State Cross Country Course.
As a team, SIUE finished 23rd of 29 teams with 666 points in the 10K race, three points behind fellow Ohio Valley Conference rival Southeast Missouri. Oklahoma State won the meet with 45 points and was followed by Tulsa (57) and host Iowa State (113).
"The guys ran first, and I thought they competed well," said SIUE Head Coach Eileen McAllister. "We had a ton of PRs. They may have gotten out a little too fast. We've been encouraging them to get out fast so I can't fault them for that."
Sophomore Clint Kliem led the SIUE contigent with the seventh fastest 10K time in school history at 32 minutes, 11.3 seconds. He placed 85th overall.
Nick Moore was next for the Cougars in 119th place, finishing in 32:39.8 which is the 20th fastest 10K in school history.
Freshman Keith Meyer was SIUE's third fastest runner in 33:00.9. That is the sixth-fastest time by an SIUE freshman in a 10K.
"Keith ran outstanding," McAllister said. "He was only 15 seconds off Clint's freshman time (32:46.10 last season)."
Evan Morgeson placed 167th with a time of 33:54.6, and Noah Isbell finished 181st in 34:33.4.
Tulsa's Chris O'Hare was the individual winner in 30:28.0.
"The guys moved up a lot compared to last year. There's always work to do, but they competed well."
