Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Track and Field	SIUE Track and Field SIUE Athletics

David Astrauskas

April 2, 2007 Bannister and Taghon Finish Strong at the Missouri Relays         EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men's track and field team started its outdoor season at the Missouri Relays over the weekend.         Top performers included Jonathan Bannister (Plano, Texas) and Brian Taghon (East Moline).         Bannister placed third with a time of 53.58 in the 400-meter hurdles.         "Jonathan has been an All-American in this event, and he has already ran two qualifying times this year. He ran a good race considering the windy conditions," said SIUE men's track and field coach David Astrauskas.         Taghon placed ninth in an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 14:48.65 in the 5,000 meter run.         "Brian ran a real nice race on Friday night. He did a good job of staying with his race plan. Brian is an established distance runner and should post some fast times," said Astrauskas.         "This weekend was filled with a lot of less than ideal conditions. If it wasn't raining, it was windy. Given the circumstances, I was very pleased with the way most of our student-athletes competed this weekend," said Astrauskas.         The Cougars will continue their outdoor season Thursday and Friday at the Eastern Illinois Neil Moore Multi's in Charleston. SIUE will return home Saturday for the SIUE Cougars Classic which will take place at Korte Stadium.                 -siue cougars-