The Saint Louis University cross country season is well underway
with two meets already under the team’s belt. The first meet for
the Bills took place on Sept. 11 at the Indiana State Invitational
with the men finishing eighth and the women finishing ninth.

“This is one of the strongest teams we have had since I have
been here,” senior Joe Porter said. “You may be thinking that with
only three returners, we would consider this a rebuilding year, but
I see it as just the opposite. This team has already surpassed my
expectations.”

Paul Lemon was the top finisher for the Bills, placing 44th
overall, completing the race in 27:45.27. Senior Emily Zimmerman
was the top women’s Billiken finisher, placing 66th with the time
of 21:08.01. Zimmerman is one of the Bills top runners.

“Running for SLU the last three years has been a great
experience,” Zimmerman said. “I’ve had a chance to run in lots of
different places and make friends with really great people.”

The team took part of the National Catholic Cross Country
Invitational hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. on Sept. 17.
The men’s team finished 13th while the women’s team finished
20th.

“The guys really focused on working together,” Porter said. “I
think the results show that, as our top 3 runners, Paul Lemon,
myself and Dan Herman finished relatively close, as well as our 4
and 5 runners, Matt Greulich and Mat Stuber. The team worked
together and pushed each other to get us into 13th place.”

The Bills are not intimidated by racing other well-known
universities. “Because cross country is a rather individual sport,
you’re really racing against yourself and the fastest time you’ve
gotten before,” Zimmerman said. “I actually like racing against
other teams, especially well known ones because I can see what
other competition there is out there and how our team
compares.”

For the men, Lemon was the top finisher for the Bills for the
second week in a row, placing 53rd with a time of 27:14. Porter
finished next for the Bills with the time of 27:20.

“One of the challenges of racing for 5 miles for the guys and
3.1 miles for the girls is keeping mentally focused,” Porter said.
“However, it is what separates a good runner from a great one. From
an hour before the race or longer, until the race is over, you
really have to focus on the task at hand to get the most out of
yourself.”

Sophomore Anissa Reynolds placed 53rd overall, but was the
fastest woman Billiken in their 5K race with a personal best time
of 19:54.

The team’s next meet is this Saturday, Sept. 25 at
SIU-Edwardsville. This is considered a home meet for the Bills.

“Our goals for this season are to finish in the top three this
weekend at our home meet, and to improve on our finish at
conference,” Lemon said. This race is for schools that have only
cross country programs and no track teams.

“My favorite race has always been our home meet. We normally
have a large crowd to come out and support us,” Porter said.

The conference meet will be Oct. 30 at DePaul