November 14, 1998
COLUMBIA, Mo. -
For the first time in 25 years the Missouri men's Cross Country team should compete in the NCAA National Championships. A fourth place finish at the Midwest Regional all but guarentees the men of an at-large bid.
"Just a tremendous finish for the men," said Coach Jeff Pigg, "for the first time in 25 years the men have qualified for National Championships. We ran an excellent race and should recieve an at-large bid."
Sophomore Nick Smith finished 8th overall, the best finish for a men's runner in over 20 years at a regional meet. Smith and Senior Ryan Pirtle, who finished 14th, were both All-Midwest Region honorees.
"Nick Smith did a tremendous job of running up front for us," Coach Pigg said, "Ryan Pirtle is closing out his senior year with an amazing post-season, he has really given us a lift the last two meets."
Junior Owen Donahue provided the Tigers with a surprising finish of 32nd, easily his best finish of the season. Adam MacDowell(So.) was less a second behind Donahue as he finished 33rd overall and fourth for Missouri.
"Owen has been running well the past two weeks in practice, so I expected him to break through this week," Coach Pigg said.
Missouri will find out for sure if they do indeed recieve an at-large bid to the National Championships on Monday. The NCAA National Championships will be run Nov. 23 in Lawrence, Kan.
The Missouri women surprised their competition for the second meet in a row, finishing 2nd at the Midwest Regional. The Tigers ambushed #17 Minnesota and stole away the automatic bid to the national meet.
Freshman Ann Marie Brooks returned as Missouri's lead runner finishing 8th overall, followed by her running mate, sophomore Katie Meyer, the two have finished 1-2 for the Tigers 5 times this year.
"Running alongside Ann Marie, is so beneficial to both of us and the team," Meyer said, "our communication is so vital, she really pulls me along and helps me perform my best."
Kim Moore (Fr.) continues her late season surge, finishing 17th, which qualified her for All-Region honors with Brooks and Meyer.
"Three all-district runners is very exciting, Kim Moore stepped up again and is really surprising some people " head coach Jeff Pigg said, "we have a lot of women running with a lot of confidence right now."
Another pleasant surprise was the 34th place finish of sophomore Sunny Gilbert.
"Sunny came up big for us today, we needed strong finishes in the top five spots," Pigg said, "and Sunny and Justa Dahl gave us a big boost from the 4 and 5 spots."
The women have nine days to prepare for the NCAA National Championships which will be held at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan. on Nov. 23rd.
·Home Grown: The Missouri men's team does indeed belong to the Show-Me state. Of the seven runners that competed at the Midwest Regional, 6 hail from Missouri communities. Mike Larson from Bourbonnais, Ill., is the only out-of-stater.
·Tiger Cubs: Missouri women by class competing at the Midwest Regional: Freshman - 2 (Ann Marie Brooks, Kim Moore) Sophomore - 4 (Katie Meyer, Justa Dahl, Sunny Gilbert, Courtney Bell) Junior - 1 (Jessica Patton)
·Tiger Streaks: The Missouri women have qualified for the NCAA National Championship for the fourth consecutive year. Katie Meyer(So.) and Nick Smith(So.) garnered All-Region honors for the second consecutive year.
·Record Watching: If the Missouri men recieve an anticipated at-large bid to the national championships, it will be the first time in school history that both men's and women's teams have qualified for the national championships.