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Cross country comes home

The University of Illinois has a women's cross country team currently ranked among the top 35 in the country, and Saturday morning SIU will attempt to fend them off on its home turf at the Saluki Invite.

Matt Sparks, SIU's cross country head coach, said the Illinois women have rebuilt their team during the past three years, much as SIU has done.

As a result of the similarities between the teams, Sparks said Illinois' success acts as a gauge for SIU. One way to measure the success of the Salukis would be by handing Illinois a defeat.

With Sarah Rinker back in action, the Salukis will have the depth to challenge the the Illini women. Rinker, a sophomore, sprained her ankle but is ready to compete Saturday morning. Sparks said the only hindrance is the mental setback that accompanies any injury.

"She didn't miss much conditioning," Sparks said. "She just needed to rebuild her confidence, and I think she has done that."

Illinois isn't the only team ready to give the women a run for their money. Indiana State will also be competing in the five-kilometer event and Sparks said they have one of the top women in the conference.

SIU's Brittani Christensen will be a daunting foe for the competition, though. The sophomore won an individual title at the Panther Open and broke the 18-minute mark at Notre Dame's 5k jaunt last Saturday.

"I'm excited and the team has been doing awesome," Christensen said. "We're looking forward to showing people, proving ourselves against Illinois and showing people we are a threat."

Both Saluki teams will return to the group running tactic seen in previous meets, racing together for at least the first half of the event.

Sparks said with fewer teams competing, this strategy works well in relaxing the runners. The more relaxed they are, the faster they can race, Sparks said.

On the men's side, Memphis will be the foremost team to challenge the Salukis, but Sparks expects them to pose a relatively small threat.

The men's team of Indiana State will race as well, but they will be running less competitively. Their top runners will not race on Saturday, but will instead train on SIU's course Friday afternoon.

Sparks said this is a preparatory move since the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference championships are also being held at SIU, and they probably want to get a feel for the terrain.

Joe Byrne of SIU will be running at full speed after recovering from a bruised knee that hindered his time at Notre Dame last Saturday. The junior's presence will be felt as he attempts to win his third individual title of the season thus far.

Sparks said Byrne and sophomore Diarmuid Grant were recently appointed as team leaders for the men.

"They're both very competitive individuals," Sparks said. "This will push them to perform at a higher lever while helping some of the younger guys on the team."

Seniors Eli Baker and Tony LaChiana will pad out the men's top four runners in the eight-kilometer run.