The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Men first, women second at Saluki Invitational

Matt Sparks, head coach for the SIU cross country teams, said the Saluki Invitational is typically viewed as the best performance the men's team will have the entire year - something he would like to change.

But the Salukis will be hard pressed to alter that perception after Saturday morning's dominance on their home course.

Joe Byrne, with a blazing time of 24 minutes and 50.02 seconds, captured yet another individual title, bringing his season total up to three. The junior was nearly 30 seconds ahead of his closest teammates, senior Eli Baker (25:14.61) and sophomore Diarmuid Grant (25:16.09), who completed the Saluki sweep of the top three spots.

As a team, the Salukis accumulated 24 points in the eight-kilometer race, easily besting the competition. Indiana State, with 66 points, was the closest runner-up in the Saluki onslaught.

Sparks said the team still needs to find a consistent fifth runner to close the gap between finishing times. Junior Rob Duncan (11th, 26:09.95) was the fifth Saluki to cross the finish line Saturday, leaving more than a minute between himself and Byrne.

"It's our biggest concern going into the conference meet," Sparks said, referring to the Missouri Valley Conference championships October 30, also being held on SIU's course.

Once that piece of the puzzle falls into place, Sparks is confident the Salukis will have an excellent shot at victory in the MVC championships.

Sophomore Brittani Christensen led the Salukis on the women's side with a fourth-place finish and a time of 17:53.25. Saturday marked Christensen's second consecutive finish under 18 minutes in a five kilometer event.

"It feels good to know I can do it more than once," Christensen said. "I know I can compete in the front."

Indiana State's Laura Engle (17:52.11) snatched third place from Christensen in the final 50 meters of the race, but she still chased Illinois' Cassie Hunt (17:05.30) and Jaime Turilli (17:25.72) by a significant margin.

Illinois recorded 21 points overall, while the Salukis finished second with 82.

A frightening moment occurred for the Salukis when freshman Jessica Ordway dropped out of the race around the 3k-mark due to breathing difficulties. Sparks said it was simply a small asthma attack and Ordway will be fine.

Like the men's team, a major problem confronting the women is the amount of time between Saluki finishes.

Sophomore Lindsay Wagner, the next Saluki to finish after Christensen, was 16th with a time of 18:31.46. The more than 30-second difference between the two is something Sparks and Christensen both mentioned.

"We run together all the time in practice," Christensen said. "We just need to focus on pushing each other during the meets."