October 19, 1998
COLUMBIA, Mo. -
On a steamy Florida evening, the Missouri Cross Country team torched the field to win its third meet of the year. The Tigers finished 1-2-3-4 to beat South Florida by 27 points.
"We had four runners finish under 25 minutes, which is a special honor within itself," Head Coach Jeff Pigg said, "Those four runners ran together, ran with each other and just dominated the race."
Sophomore Adam MacDowell edged teammate Joel McCune(Jr.) by .2 seconds in a time of 24:51.60. Ryan Pirtle(Sr.) and Nick Smith(So.) finished third and fourth respectively.
"Our front four did a tremendous job. Those guys ran a very smart, team race, and the way that they worked together was extraordinary," Pigg Said.
Junior Mike Larson finished 11th overall with a time of 25:28.30 to finish out the scoring for Mizzou.
Larson has finished in the points for Missouri at every race this year.
"Mike Larson did a good job of getting up there and running with the leaders," Pigg said, "it seems like every week he is closing in on our front four."
The race marked the end of the regular season for the Tigers, as they now prepare for the Big XII Championships to be held Oct. 31 in Lincoln, Neb.
"We still have a lot more left in this team. We trained so that we would be really tuned in coming into the post-season," Pigg said.
FINAL RESULTS
South Florida Invitational Oct. 16, 1998... South Florida Golf Course... Tampa, Fla.
Men - 8,000M
1. MISSOURI(18) 21
2. South Florida 48
3. Loyola University 65
4. Miami University 146
5. North Florida 148
6. Florida International 180
7. Jacksonville University 183
8. Florida Southern 207
9. Lynchburg College 280
10. Webber College 306
11. Florida A&M 307
12. Florida Atlantic 370
13. Florida Tech 374
14. Stetson University 413
15. St. Leo College 443
16. ED Waters University 494
17. Warner Southern College 518
18. Palm Beach Atlantic College 557
Individual Summary - Missouri
1. Adam Macdowell 24:51.60
2. Joel McCune 24:51.80
3. Ryan Pirtle 24:53.80
4. Nick Smith 24:54.10
11. Mike Larson 25:28.30
21. Matt Stauffer 26:01.40
25. Steve Wade 26:08.90