USI Screaming Eagles | Men's Cross Country

October 25, 2008

Men's runners dominate GLVC meet,
Win fourth straight title and fifth in six years

Complete Results;
USI Results Only

ROLLA, Mo.—The No. 12-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's cross country team placed 10 runners in the top 20 as it ran away with its fourth consecutive conference title and fifth in the last six years Saturday at the GLVC Championships.

Freshman Dustin Emerick (Elmwood, Illinois) led the Screaming Eagles and was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year with his third-place finish. Emerick completed the 8k course in 26 minutes, 2.54 seconds, less than 15 seconds off the winning pace set by Drury University's Jaime Villa Zapatero.

USI, which finished with 26 team points to pick up its unprecedented 16th league title in the program's history, had six runners in the top nine and finished with a record eight All-GLVC selections.

No. 22-ranked Northern Kentucky University placed second with 63 team points, while No. 25-ranked Drury placed third with 66 points.

Senior Bryan Phillips (Kokomo, Indiana) was not far off Emerick's pace as he finished fourth with a time of 26 minutes, 3.58 seconds. Freshman Brendan Devine (Bethel, New York) was fifth with a time of 26 minutes, 9.95 seconds, while junior Brandon Campbell (Portage, Indiana) was sixth with a time of 26 minutes, 13.43 seconds.

Phillips, Devine, and Campbell joined Emerick on the All-GLVC team as did freshman David Goodman (Valparaiso, Indiana), sophomore Andrew Dixon (Petersburg, Indiana), and seniors Sam Gebreselassie (Avon, Indiana) and Robert Roads (Terre Haute, Indiana). Goodman and Dixon were eighth and ninth, respectively, while Gebreselassie and Roads were 11th and 15th, respectively.

Mike Hillyard

"The guys ran very well with four consecutive runners in the shoot," Head Coach Mike Hillyard said. "We wanted to win, but we wanted to win with a good effort.

"Last year we felt like it was a little hollow because it wasn't a particularly strong performance," Hillyard continued. "This year we felt much better because we feel like it was our best performance of the year."

Hillyard was named the GLVC Men's and Women's Coach of the Year after leading both squads to their respective conference titles. It marks the eighth and ninth times that Hillyard has earned the Coach of the Year award since taking over the women's program in 1997.

USI's women had 10 of the top 21 finishers as they completed the day with 39 points, 25 better than second-place and No. 20-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

The conference titles by USI marked the first time since 2003 that a school has taken home both the men's and women's GLVC titles in cross country and the fourth time in league history. USI was the last school to win both titles.

"It doesn't happen very often," Hillyard said of the winning both championships. "It was a goal from the start of the season to win the conference championship. To be able to have both teams win on the same day makes us all happy to meet that goal."

The Eagles return to action November 8 when they compete at the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships in Big Rapids, Michigan.

Dan McDonnell,
USI Sports Information

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