ST. LOUIS – The
2011
State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship will
be held this Sunday, October 30, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross
Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind. hosted by Indiana State
University. Southern Illinois men and Wichita State
women were voted as the pre-championship favorites in the coaches’
pre-championship poll.
Creighton's men were picked ninth in the MVC while its women's squad was picked 10th.
The Saluki men have earned the most team
championships in the Valley and hope to make this year their thirteenth
win. The Shocker women are seeking to continue their
winning streak with a seventh-consecutive title, which would be the 13th
title in school history as well. The men's 8k race will start at
10:30am followed by the women’s 5k race at 11:30 a.m.
The
Southern Illinois men's cross country team is this season's
favorite to win the 2011 State Farm MVC Men's Cross Country Championship
with 73 points and three first-place votes. After finishing in
second-place a year ago, the Salukis have taken team honors twice this
year and place four runners in the Valley 8k top-ten.
Their roster provides a lot of depth with Neal Anderson (athlete of the
week honors, second-fastest 8k time in the Valley), Zach Dahleen
(fourth-fastest 8k), Brian Dixon (athlete of the week honors,
7th-fastest 8k) and Lucas Cherry (9th 8k time).
Wichita
State was picked first in the women's pre-championship
poll with seven first-place votes and a total of 97 points. The
Shockers' have a lot of depth in their lineup as Aliphine Tuliamuk,
Scarla Nero, Patrober Murindat and Samantha Shukla all have top-ten 5k
performances in the Valley. Tuliamuk currently holds
the fastest Conference 4k, 5k and 6k times of the season and has been
named athlete of the week on three occasions.
Indiana State will be streaming the Championship live. It
can be viewed on the Valley’s website at www.mvc-sports.com.
