Oct. 7, 2004

Memphis, Tenn---The Memphis men's and women's cross country teams will take the road this weekend and head to Carbondale, Ill., to run in the Saluki Invitational, hosted by Southern Illinois University. The meet marks the first competition of the fall for the men, while the women look to build on strong performances in their third meet of the season.

The Women:
The Lady Tiger squad has been led thus far by sophomore, Daniele Riendeau, who placed 11th at the Memphis Twilight Classic before picking up a third place finish at the UALR Open on September 25 with a time of 18:30 for the 5000m race.

After Riendeau, the U of M squad has at least five runners who could have a major impact in this weekend's meet. Senior Nora Nemere and sophomores Becca McMahon and Mary Claire Dake have each been in the team's top four in the first two meets. McMahon placed second on the team and 48th overall in the Memphis Twilight Classic, while Nemere came in second on the team and 17th overall at UALR. Dake has finished in the third spot in each of the two meets.

Sophomore, Sarah Janecek, who has finished in the fifth spot for the team in each of the first two meets, will try to remain in the top five, while fellow sophomore Kimberly McVeigh attempts to move into one of the five scoring spots after finishing sixth at Memphis and UALR.

Juniors Karin Brooks and Heather Woolls and sophomore Brittany Pieraccini have also made strong showings at the previous two meets and look to build on this and continue to improve their times.

"We are really looking forward to this weekend," said Coach Jonas Holdeman. "It will be another nice chance for us to see where we are. In general the competition will be better than the last meet, so the girls will have to battle more and run tougher races."

The Men:
For the Memphis men, the Saluki Invitational will mark their first meet of the year, after thin numbers and a rash of injuries have kept them out of early season competition.

The inexperienced squad will almost undoubtedly be led by Mate Nemeth, who has had great success in cross country and track at U of M. The senior is a two-time defending Conference USA champion in the 3000m steeplechase and has also won a championship in the 5000m. Nemeth has been slowed by and ankle injury which has limited his training, but is beginning to regain his championship form.

Beyond Mate Nemeth, the Tigers will have a very inexperienced squad, especially when it comes to cross country. Senior Gary Nemeth, Sophomores Michael Mentz and Abraham Shaposhnik and freshman Alex Hartsell will round out the Tiger's five man team for the meet.

Mentz and Shaposhnik are more adept to middle distances, but will likely fit into the second and third spots on the team. Gary Nemeth who is primarily a sprinter, but will compete in cross country this fall, and Hartsell, who has potential, but is relatively new to competitive running, are most probable to finish in the fourth and fifth team spots.

The Tiger squad hopes to use the Saluki Invitational as a barometer to judge where they are competitively and as a stepping stone to future meets, especially the conference championship.

"We have had a lot of injuries, so we are having to use some guys that aren't really distance runners, which makes it tough," said Coach Glenn Hays. "Even Mate has had an ankle injury and isn't up to full strength yet, so this meet will just be a building block."

The Saluki Invitational:
The Saluki Invitational will be held on the campus of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in Carbondale, Ill. Both the women's and men's races will begin and end near the Saluki baseball field, with the women's event at a distance of 5k and the men's event at a distance of 8k. Approximately 10 Division I women's and men's teams are expected to participate in the event.