Carbondale Reporter

The Southern Illinois University (SIU) cross country teams concluded their regular season at the Angel Mounds Invitational in Evansville, Indiana, on Friday. Both the men's and women's teams are now preparing for the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Championships.

The SIU men's team finished 10th overall in the 8K race, earning 254 points. Senior Ben Chance led the team with a time of 24:59.37, placing 29th among Division I competitors. He was followed by teammates Will Foltz (42nd, 25:21.64), Weston Jokerst (46th, 25:24.52), Calen George (55th, 25:30.34), and Brady Faulkner (82nd, 26:19.21).

Head coach Angelina Ramos commented on the team's progress, stating, "Our men are becoming more consistent and dependable at packing up and running together and performing within their bandwidth of their best 8K effort—now it's time to sharpen for conference for them to unleash the collective race I know they have inside of them. Their team chemistry is in the best place yet, and I know that bodes well for another strong showing at conference because I truly believe this group of men are running for each other and each care towards that mission equally."

On the women's side, SIU placed 15th in the 6K event with 382 points. Hannah Meiser led the women with a time of 22:16.83, securing 31st place. Riley Linville achieved a personal best of 22:51.66 for 58th place. Savanna Franzen (88th, 24:01.38), Audrey Boles (99th, 24:25.44), and Brodie Denny (106th, 24:36.19) completed the scoring for the team.

Ramos addressed the challenges faced by the women's team, saying, "The women have a lot of work to do to get where we need to be. Still trying to revive a few back from respiratory illnesses, and immune systems weren't fully back as quickly as we'd hoped. After the car accident Hannah Meiser was in during March 2025, we've been retraining her biomechanics post arm break and building back for the outdoor track season missed. Today was a 30-second improvement on two weeks ago and a critical step in the right direction toward where I know she can be."

Ramos also highlighted Linville's improvement, stating, "Riley Linville got a 6K personal best by 32 seconds and is trending the right way. However, Riley is very believed in and I wouldn't be surprised if she shaved another 60 to 70 seconds off of that by racing more aggressive in championship season. Riley has a history in high school of being a championship racer and made her high school coach cry happy tears when she ran her final high school state race coming down the Missouri Gans Creek 5K homestretch in 18:35, her final race in uniform, and I believe Riley will step up and bring me to tears at conference."

The teams will now prepare for the MVC Championships, aiming to achieve their best results of the season.

For more updates, the public can follow SIU cross country and track and field on social media platforms such as X, Instagram, and Facebook.