Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cross Country	SIUE Women's Cross Country SIUE Men's Cross Country SIUE Athletics

Kayla Brown Erik Steffens Kyle Cameron

October 15, 2007 Cougars Finalize Plans for GLVC Championships           EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. -- Indianapolis will be the site of the 2007 Great Lakes Valley Conference Cross Country Championships.           The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's and men's teams continue to prepare for Saturday's meet. The women's 6,000-meter race is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. followed by the men's 8,000-meter race at 10:30 a.m.           Assistant Coach Eileen McAllister said the Cougars have not cut back on training for the past two weeks. SIUE's last meet was on Oct. 6 at Border Wars where heat was a factor in the race.           "It was hard to gauge their fitness levels because of the heat that day," she said.           SIUE's Kayla Brown (Petersburg) on the women's side and Erik Steffens (Moline) and Kyle Cameron (East Moline) on the men's side are all returning All-GLVC performers, finishing in the top 10 last season.           Brown finished ninth last season in 22 minutes, 16.07 seconds and was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year. Steffens placed sixth in 26:10.46 while Cameron sneaked into the top 10 at ninth with a time of 26:18.06.           All three will look to improve on their overall finish this season. That belief also works for the rest of the squad.           "If you improve as individuals, you'll improve as a team," said McAllister.           McAllister said she expects Southern Indiana and UW-Parkside to contend for the women's team title. She said Southern Indiana, Northern Kentucky and Missouri-Rolla will be the likely favorites in the men's race.           Saturday's championships also will be an important test before all of the GLVC teams arrive in Edwardsville for the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 3.                     -siue cougars-