The season for the Eastern men’s and women’s cross country team came to an end Saturday at the NCAA regionals.

The meet took place in Peoria at Bradley University, where the Panthers had already competed in October earlier this season for the Bradley Classic.

The Panthers looked to come into the competition with this in mind and use it to their advantage.

The top finisher for the men’s team was junior Brad LaRocque. LaRocque finished the 10k course with a time of 32:14.36. LaRocque was the only male Eastern runner to finish inside the top 100 for the Panthers, finishing in 94th place.

LaRocque was also the Panthers top finisher at the NCAA regional last season, finishing 89th, as well as being the top Panther finisher for the last three meets this season, including the Bradley Classic.

The top finisher for the women’s team was senior Caitlin Napoleoni. Napoleoni finished the 6k course in 98th place while posting a time of 23:06.41. The NCAA Regionals marked the first meet of the season in which Napoleoni had been the top finisher for the Panthers.

The NCAA regionals also marked the first time this season that sophomore Olivia Klaus was not the Panthers top finisher. Klaus had been the Panthers top finisher for each of the team’s five meets this season.

The NCAA regional meet was also the first time Klaus finished outside the top 20 finishers. Klaus finished 101 out of 188 runners while recording a time of 22:09.63. Klaus was the second runner to cross the finish line for the Panthers.

The men’s meet was won by Oklahoma with a score of 43 points. The individual meet was won by junior Colby Lowe of Oklahoma State with a time of 29:30.70.

The women’s meet was won by Iowa State with 35 points. The individual meet was won by sophomore Stephanie Price of Minnesota with a time of 20:01.48.

The Panther men finished 21 out of 24 teams, while the women were 20 out of 27. Ohio Valley Conference rivals Southeastern Missouri finished 15th in the men’s event and 27th in the women’s event.

“It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of good teams there,” said freshman Ryan Ballard. “As a team we just wanted to go out, have fun and compete.”

Ballard said having already run the course earlier in the year greatly benefited the Panthers.

“We knew how to attack the course, where the hills were, and how it ran. It definitely helps that we were able to run there earlier this season,” Ballard said.

With the 2010 cross country season coming to a close, many team members will look to compete in the track and field season, with the indoor season beginning in December.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7944 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.

A group of cross country runners jog a warm-up lap during practice on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at the Panther Trail. (Jordan Boner

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