Women's Cross Country Returns To Action Saturday At Indiana St. Invitational
10/03/2002 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Oct. 3, 2002
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University women's cross country team will return to action Saturday at the Indiana State Invitational.
The Salukis will welcome back standout runner Noa Beitler, who sat out the first two meets of the season, bolstering their chances for a strong showing in what should be a highly competitive race.
The women's race will kick off at 10:30 a.m., featuring 21 teams, including Missouri Valley Conference rivals Bradley and the host Sycamores. SIU last competed at the Missouri Challenge on Sept. 14, and will be running in its first 6K race of the season.
"This meet will give us the opportunity to see where we stand in the longer distance,'' said Salukis head coach Matt Sparks.
The return of Beitler, plus outstanding running thus far by Katie Meehan, has SIU feeling confident as the Saluki Invitational and MVC Championships approach. Meehan currently has the second-best 5K time in the MVC at 18:07.94.
Indiana State is hosting the NCAA and MVC Championships this year, and has attracted some of the top teams in the country to its home meets this season.
"This meet will allow us to see how we stack up against some of the better teams and individuals in the country, as well as competing against conference rivals Indiana St. and Bradley,'' said Sparks. "This meet will also allow us to see the course and become more familiar with it leading up to the conference meet."