Track and Field	SIUE Track/Cross Country SIUE Athletics

Jason Olszowka

October 14, 2002 Olszowka Leads Cougars to Second-Place Finish        Jason Olszowka (Lockport) led the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men’s cross country team to a second-place overall finish at Saturday’s Border State Championships, which was hosted by SIUE.        Olszowka finished sixth overall with an 8,000-meter time of 26 minutes, 23 seconds.        “Coming into the latter part of the season, Jason tends to be a little more focused and use his ability for all it’s worth, and that put him out front,” said Coach Darryl Frerker. “He set himself in a good position to get ready for conference.”        Once again, Brian Taghon (East Moline) and Ryan Boyll (Normal) finished side-by-side in 16th and 17th, respectively, with a time of 26:49.        Nick Campbell (Charleston) ran to a 30th-place finish with a time of 27:17. Jon Sadowski (Springfield) finished 36th with a time of 37:31.        As a team, the Cougars finished tied with Truman State for second overall with 90 points but won the tiebreaker based on total time for its top five runners. Emporia State took home the team championship with 57 points.        “The guys have been running very strong together as a pack all year long in practice and in meets. It’s starting to come together for us,” Frerker said.        The Cougars will now prepare for the GLVC Championships to be held Oct. 26 in Kenosha, Wis.               -siue cougars-