Oct. 26, 1999
Tigers Eye Top-Three Finish
The Missouri cross country teams are headed into phase two of the season on Saturday, the championship season! On Saturday, October 30, MU will take on the rest of the conference at the Big XII Championships held in College Station, Texas at the Texas A&M Golf Course. The women take to the course at 10 a.m. to run their 5K race while the gun fires for the men's 10K race at 11 a.m. Both teams finished 3rd at the 1998 version of the conference championships.
Both teams are coming off sub-par performances at the Pre-Nationals meet last Saturday (Oct. 16), but are ready to go at conference.
"They are running the best they have all year," head coach Jeff Pigg said. "We have had a great week of practices. This is what we have been aiming at all season."
Women's Preview
The 24th-ranked Tiger women come into the meet ready to take on the tough competition that stands before them. MU's top runners have been steadily improving throughout the season. This potentially could be the best group of women Mizzou has ever brought to compete at the Big XII meet.
"This is what we build our training around," Pigg said. " We want to be in the best possible meet conidition coming in to the championships. We are sitting right where we want to be."
"Our lowest finish at the Big XII meet has been third," said Pigg. "We are excited and want to keep that place. Colorado and Kansas State are two great teams. However, the conference is so deep that right behind them is Texas, Nebraska and Baylor. Including us, there are six teams that are strong. We are going to have to run well if we want to get the job done."
Coach Pigg feels the women are capable of running well. He feels they could run a race that would rank them in the top-10 nationally and still finish third. That alone tells you how deep and strong the Big XII conference is this year.
The Big 12 conference is one of the toughest in the country. Six of the women's teams are ranked in the most recent poll released by FinishLynx. Colorado leads the pack ranked No. 4 with Kansas State close behind at No. 7. Baylor and Texas are ranked No. 15 and 16 while Missouri and Nebraska round out the poll as the No. 24 and 25 ranked teams.
Chipman Continually Improving
Freshman Amy Chipman has been making quite a name for herself this season. She has finished in the Tigers top three every meet so far this season, including her team leading performance at Pre-Nationals last Saturday (Oct. 16).
"We have been gradually building her up all season," coach Pigg said. "There are times when she gets frustrated with me because I try and hold her back. She has had a great freshman season. I do not want her to give us everything now to the point we have nothing left the remainder of her career. We want her to be solid all four years. She is a very talented and exciting runner."