Track and Field	SIUE Women's Cross Country SIUE Men's Cross Country SIUE Athletics

September 15, 2003 Cross Country Sets Sights on EIU Open          The SIUE men’s and women’s cross country squads will travel to Charleston on Friday for the Panther Open, hosted by Eastern Illinois University.          “The experienced athletes will try for personal records at this meet,” Coach Darryl Frerker said. “It is important for the younger runners to get experience with racing. This race also is about refining their skills to produce the best outcome.”          SIUE is coming off Saturday’s Cougar/Bearcat challenge. Breanne Steffens (Moline) finished first on the women’s side with a 5,000-meter time of 18 minutes, 57 seconds, while Ryan Boyll (Normal) was the front runner for the men’s team with an 8,000-meter time of 26:42.          Mary Witte (Normal) and Carrie Carducci (Powell, Ohio) finished second and third, respectively, to give SIUE the top 3 finishes on the women’s side.          Brian Taghon (East Moline) finished just two seconds behind Boyll for a second-place finish. Cody Ellermeyer (DuQuoin) finished fifth in his first collegiate cross country meet.          “We’ve had a better team start this year than in the past,” Frerker said. “We are in better shape and have some big goals ahead of us.”                 -siue cougars-