November 03, 2007
Eagles advance to nationals for third straight year
Complete Results
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.— The No. 7 University of Southern Indiana men's cross country team finished third at the NCAA II Championships Saturday to earn a spot at the NCAA II Championships.
 |
Paul Jellema |
 |
Rey Alvarez |
Senior
Paul Jellema (Dyer, Indiana) led the Screaming Eagles with a second-place finish and 10k time of 31 minutes, 36.83 seconds, while senior
Rey Alvarez (Danville, Illinois) was 17th with a 10k time of 32 minutes, 20.15 seconds. Jellema earns All-Region honors with his performance.
"We are exciting to be making our third straight trip to nationals and hope for a much better showing there," Head Coach
Mike Hillyard said.
USI struggled despite the solid finish. Junior
Tim Sirbek (Hammond, Indiana), who has run number two for the Eagles throughout the season, was 42nd with a 10k time of 33 minutes, 2.69 seconds. Sophomore
Matt Zielske (Elkhart, Indiana) also struggled Saturday as he finished 132nd with a 10k time of 35 minutes, 58.63 seconds.
The Eagles, however, got a solid performance out of senior
Tristan Mannix (Crothersville, Indiana). Mannix was 24th with a 10k time of 32 minutes, 34.50 seconds.
Sophomore
Brandon Campbell (Portage, Indiana) rounded out USI's top five runners with a 49th-place finish, while freshman
Andrew Dixon (Petersburg, Indiana) was 52nd.
As a team, the Eagles finished with 134 points to secure their third consecutive trip to the NCAA II Championships, which are November 17 in Joplin, Missouri.
Dan McDonnell,
USI Sports Information
