Oct. 26, 2006

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri State men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the 2006 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Championships on Saturday in Clarksville, Tenn. Austin Peay State University will be hosting the championships, which will be held at the Sirco Course in Clarksville. The women's 5K race will begin at 10 a.m. and the men's 8K race starts at 11 a.m.

The Redhawks have had an impressive season so far and are looking to finish their year on top. They have had a runner from each team capture Ohio Valley Conference Runner of the Week Awards, along with the men's No. 10 ranking in the Midwest Region.

Last year, the Southeast men placed sixth out of eleven teams, but are expected to place in the top two in this year's championship. Sophomore Kevin McNab has been the top runner for the men and is expected to be the team leader in the event. Competing with McNab in the meet this weekend will be seniors Chris Herren and Mark McNamara, junior Danny Stults, sophomore Brandon Karcher, and freshmen Dustin Davis, Paul Stemmerman, and James Lee.

"We have a strong group of guys and they are really excited about the competition," says Coach Miles Krieger. "If we stick to our same race plan and finish in the top two then we have done our job."

On the women's side, sophomore Juli Koenegstein has lead to the team in every meet this season and is expected to lead the team to a fourth place finish. Junior Sarah Verelst, sophomores Brittni Peck and Sarah Johnson has also been strong finishers for the women's team and will add depth. Aside from Koenegstein, Verelst, Peck, and Johnson, the women will run freshman, Katie Mueller, Jacque Risley, and Linnea Woldtvedt.

The Southeast women suffered a lost from freshman Stephanie Harres, due to a sprained ankle on Monday. She will not compete in OVC Championships.

"Losing Stephanie right before conference is an unfortunate situation for us," said Krieger. "She has really made a strong contribution to the team over the past few weeks. Our women's team now has to pull together and perform up to our best abilities."