Energetic Zeiler brings OVC gold back to Cape

Once Lindsay Zeiler got her energy level back up, she again began to run like she knew she was capable of all along.

And that culminated in Southeast Missouri State University's freshman distance ace winning Saturday's Ohio Valley Conference cross country meet in Morehead, Ky.

"It was real exciting," Zeiler said. "This was definitely by far my best race."

Zeiler covered the 5,000-meter course in 15 minutes, 52 seconds to beat Eastern Kentucky's Tiffaney Cartwright by five seconds and lead the Otahkians to a second-place team finish.

Impressive, to be sure, but something that for much of the season it didn't look like she would be able to accomplish as she struggled to find the energy she had always been used to having. That lack of energy caused her to perform well below expectations.

"She had not been recovering after workouts. She was always tired," Southeast distance coach Tammy Wenkel said. "We didn't know what we were doing wrong with her."

Said Zeiler, "I was running at the University of Missouri race (in September) and took almost last place. I was really tired in practice all the time and I didn't know what was wrong. It was really frustrating."

A trip to her doctor back home in Metropolis, Ill., finally solved the problem for the four-time Illinois state track champion in the 1,600-meters and 3,200-meters. It was determined that Zeiler was anemic; the iron levels in her blood were extremely low, causing her to lack energy.

A common problem

According to Wenkel, it's something that happens often with female runners. Once Zeiler began taking iron supplements and changing her diet some, the problem was solved and she began running like her old self again.

"I was really relieved when I found out, so I knew why I had been running slow," Zeiler said. "Once I got my energy back, it made a big difference."

Zeiler entered Saturday's meet believing she had a chance to win but not knowing what her competition would be like.

"I knew there were two girls from Eastern Kentucky who were really good, but I didn't really know what to expect," she said.

Added Wenkel, "I'm really proud of her. I think it's something we knew she could do all along, but she didn't really have the chance before because of her problem. But she did real well at our home meet (Oct. 26) and she ran excellent Saturday. She made it look easy."

Team performs well

Eastern Kentucky won the nine-team women's race with 29 points, followed by Southeast (43) and Eastern Illinois (50). Murray State (144) finished a distant fourth.

Rounding out the Otahkians' top five were Kaci Pilcher (8, 18:24), Kris Woolf (10, 18:32), Brooke Woodruff (11, 18:38) and Anna Verseman (13, 18:49).

"I wish we could have won it, but they all ran personal bests," Wenkel said. "I couldn't ask any more than that."

Said Zeiler, "We were disappointed because we were hoping to get first, but everybody ran their best times so I thought we did really good."

Eastern Illinois (28) prevented a sweep by Eastern Kentucky (29) as it narrowly won the men's race. Murray State (99) finished a distant third, followed by Morehead St. (110) and Southeast (115).

Chad Sierman paced Southeast's finishers by placing 15th, covering the 8,000 meters in 25:55.

Other top-five runners for the Indians were Brian Whitehead (16, 26:01), Gabe Lutes (23, 26:41), Jared Tanz (28, 27:04) and Adam Daughhetee (33, 27:19).