MACOMB, Ill.  -  The Western Illinois men's and women's cross country teams finished off a solid 2009 campaign at the NCAA Midwest Regional, Saturday, Nov. 14.

On both sides, the Fighting Leathernecks fought hard despite a lengthy and variant course in Springfield, Mo.

“The course today was hard,” Western Illinois cross country coach Matt Morris said. “It had some tough speed changes, which didn't really suit our strengths going in.”

The Leatherneck men were headed up by the pack of upperclassmen, junior Tyler Buckles, placing 96th in a time of 33:53, senior Eric Anerino in 108th (34:10), senior Jared Schmidt in 160th (36:10) and senior Jeremy Whitaker in 174th (38:55).

The women's side was paced by junior Carianna Cottone's 87th-place performance in a time of 23:07 and followed with junior Josie Parker in 150th (24:41).

“Buckles and Anerino put in good efforts today,” Morris said. “On the women's side, Carianna had kind of a tough time in the middle but got up there and really finished strong, and so did Josie Parker.”

Neither Leatherneck squad qualified in the team scoring.

The Midwest Regional, hosted by Missouri State, marks the end of the cross country season for Western.

“Our team chemistry has been great all year and the whole training process went really well,” Morris said. “I am really proud of everybody and couldn't be happier with this team.”

Men's Results

Women's Results