September 29, 1998
COLUMBIA, MO. -
After starting off with first and second place finishes in their first two meets of the year, the Missouri Tiger Womens' Cross Country team is ranked 15th in the NCAA. Due in large part to their Midwest Region Championship last year, the Tigers are ranked number one in that region this year.
After beginning the season ranked 13th, the Tigers won their only home meet of the year, the Naya Invitational, and finished second last Saturday at the Indiana Invitational.
Freshman Ann Marie Brooks finished sixth in her first road meet with a time of 18:51.50. Running strong early in the year are sophomores Katie Meyer, Sunny Gilbert, and Courtney Bell as they finished 7th, 12th, and 13th respectively.
Finishing within eight seconds of each other was the freshman trio of Becky Froelker(15th), Kim Moore(16th), and Tobie Bittle(17th).
The five runners who scored points for Missouri all finished in the top 15 and also finished within 48 seconds of one another.
MEN RUN AWAY WITH SECOND VICTORY OF THE SEASON
The Missouri Tigers won their second meet in as many tries last Saturday in Bloomington, Ind. Led by Sophomore Nick Smith, who finished second overall with a time of 26:01.40, the Tigers placed five runners in the top ten.
Finishing within 23 seconds of Smith were Adam MacDowell(So.), Mike Larson(Jr.), and Ryan Pirtle(Sr.) with times of 26:21.10, 26:21.30, and 26:24.40 respectively.
Sophomore Joel McCune had his best finish of the year as he finished ninth overall with a time of 26:46.50.
Missouri finished with 12 runners in the Top 30 including Greg Speicher(12th), Matt Stauffer(13th), Steve Wade(17th), Joe Hofeditz(21st), Owen Donahue(25th), Ryan Fitzgerald(26th), and Jeff Strong(27th). NEWS AND NOTES:
SCHEDULE PART II: After great races at the Indiana Invitational the Tigers will have the weekend off before heading to the Pre-National meet in Lawrence, Kan. They will compete at Rim Rock Farm, the same course that will be used for the NCAA Championships later this year.
LEADER OF THE PACK: With Ann Marie Brooks leading the way, nine Missouri sophomores or freshmen finished within 86 seconds of one another at the Indiana Invitational.
NCAA Women's Rankings 1. BYU 2. Stanford 3. Providence 4. Colorado 5. Michigan 6. Wake Forest 7. Georgetown 8. Arizona 9. Wisconsin 10. NC State 11. Dartmouth 12. Arkansas 13. Northern Arizona 14. Washington 15. MISSOURI 16. Oregon 17. Minnesota 18. William & Mary 19. Florida 20. UCLA 21. West Virginia 22. Baylor 23. Utah State 24. Cornell 25. Bowling Green
Midwest Region Rankings 1. Missouri 2. Minnesota 3. Nebraska 4. Kansas State 5. Bradley 6. Wichita State 7. Oklahoma State 8. Iowa State 9. Oklahoma 10. Drake
Next Meet Next: Pre-National Invitational Location: Lawrence, Kan. Date: Saturday, October 10 Start Time (W/M): 10 a.m./11 a.m. Distance (W/M): 5K/8K
Press Box The Kansas Sports Information staff will have results on the Info Connection fax-on-demand system immediately following the race . Media outlets wishing to receive results before then may access Info Connection at the number below. Access Number: (770) 563-1131 Passcode: 1212 Request Numbers: 2139