With their opening meet to be held this Sunday in Peoria, the
Saint Louis University cross country team is looking forward to a
new season with high expectations for both the men’s and women’s
sides.

Sunday’s meet at Bradley University will feature the Billikens
against 20 to 30 other programs from around the United States.

While it is sure to be quite competitive, the runners are
confident about their chances this year, thanks to some
improvements on both squads.

On the men’s side, the team is enthusiastic about the return of
Brandon Middleton, a fifth-year senior who did not compete last
season.

Middleton has a shot to break the current school record on the
5-mile run, currently set at 25:19. The team should benefit greatly
from a runner of such talent.

Middleton is joined by Joe Porter, who is characterized the
optimism that surrounds this year’s squad.

“The team’s high expectations for the season and the fact that
there are about three or four teams that are easily within grasp,”
Porter said.

However he also conceded the fact that the squad has had some
off season injuries, and that people are just starting to come
back.

“Once those people get back into shape the team should really be
competitive,” Porter said.

It is clear that the SLU men have in fact had setbacks before
the first meet. Freshman Paul Lemon will be unavailable for the
meet due to a leg stress fracture, but hopes to return soon.

Another newcomer, Jason Genta, is expected to make an immediate
impact on the team.

While Porter acknowledges that the Bills have yet to defeat
another Conference USA team, given the improved nature of the
squad, it is clear that the men have a chance to be competitive
this upcoming season.

Another member of the squad this year is senior Pete Mosher who
was recently voted onto the Verizon Academic All-District VII Cross
Country squad, which honors Mosher’s achievements both on the
course and in the classroom.

He also helped the Billiken’s, as a whole, attain the highest
cumulative GPA in all of Conference USA. He will represent C-USA on
the national academic team.

Ironically, Mosher’s best time last year, 29 minutes flat, came
at this weekend’s event, the Bradley Invitational.

The women’s squad has returned four runners this year, and
coupled with some tough new faces, should be ready to do some
damage at Sunday’s meet. The core of the team lies with the
leadership of Sarah Moberg, Anne Lampe, Jaime Branham and Emily
Zimmerman.

Together, these women could quite possibly make this one of the
best teams in school history.

Moberg red shirted as a freshman and now is in her third year of
eligibility.

At the school’s time trial, these four women looked very
impressive, taking first through fourth place, respectively.

The team is also joined by newcomer Beth Sherman, who will be
running her first race as a Billiken this weekend.

The talent is certainly there for this team to do something
special this year. With 19 runners, though, the team carries a lot
of runners, given the fact that they can only field nine runners at
conference meets and seven at regionals.

This week’s meet will be a chance for all 19 to show their
ability, as each team can field as many runners as they wish.

It will certainly be the first big test for those wishing to
earn a spot at conference and regionals.

The team’s home meet this year will take place at
SIU-Edwardsville, all colleges that have cross country teams but
not track teams are invited.

The meet is called the “Cross Country Only National
Championship.” Additionally, the Bills will travel to Notre Dame on
Sept. 19th to compete in the “All Catholic Cross Country National
Championships” against programs such as Notre Dame and
Georgetown.

The team will compete in two more meets before the Conference
USA championships are held in November. Those meets are the Indiana
State Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., and the Evansville
Invitational, in Evansville Ind. later on.

The Billikens will pretty much have a meet every other weekend
until their conference meet.

This year’s C-USA meet will be held in Tampa, Florida, at the
University of Southern Florida’s campus. It is clear that the SLU
cross country team is looking forward to this year with high
expectations, and why not?

The talent is certainly there for both the men and women to have
successful years.

Both sides have retained key runners who should help them be
competitive as well as help foster growth for the younger
members.

This week’s meet marks the beginning of hopefully a great sprint
to the finish for the SLU Billikens, which is ironic when comparing
it to the very nature of cross country running in that the
steadiest runners usually prove to be victorious.