University of Missouri
MidwestNCAARegional
Women's Cross Country Earns NCAA Berth
11/15/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Nov. 15, 1999
The University of Missouri made history on Saturday, November 13 at the Region V Championships in Champaign, Ill. Both the men's and women's teams earned automatic berths to the NCAA cross country championships with their second place finishes at the Region meet marking the first time in school history both teams automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships. Nine Tigers also earned All-Regional honors by finishing in the top-25, marking another first for Mizzou.
The seventh-ranked Kansas State women's team claimed the title with 40 points, 26 better than Missouri's second-place 66 point total. MU out-ran No. 25 Nebraska who totaled 98 points while the 16th ranked Minnesota Gophers placed fourth with 109 points.
"This is the best day in Missouri cross country history," head coach Jeff Pigg said. "It is the first time that both teams have automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the same season and the first time we have ever had nine runners earn All-Region honors.
For the women, all seven runners finished in the top-32, with the five scorers finishing in the top-20. Senior Anna Gullingsrud led Missouri for the fourth time this season crossing the finish line in tenth place with a time of 17:31. Freshman Amy Chipman continued to run well placing 12th in her first Region meet in 17:35. Sophomore Ann Marie Brooks was just her placing 13th with a time of 17:36. Junior Katie Meyer finished 17th in 17:47 followed by sophomore Kim Moore who placed 19th in 17:49. All five of the black and gold scorers earned All-Region V honors. MU's final two runners were junior Justa Dahl who placed 28th in 18:07 and freshman Kerry Hils who finished 31st in 18:09. All told, the seven Missouri runners were within 36 seconds of each other and with in 21 places proving just how deep this Tiger team is.
"The women just continued to do what they have all season," Pigg said. "They ran tough and together as a team. We had our best workouts of the season leading up to this meet so we knew we were capable of performing well."
The Tigers season comes to a close on Monday, November 22 at the NCAA Championships in Bloomington, Ind. This will mark only the second time in school history that both teams will be competing at the NCAA Championships together. The first was last season as the women placed 21st with the men finishing 27th.
Women's Results Team (top-5 teams only) Place Points 1. Kansas State (No. 7) 40 2. Missouri (No. 21) 66 3. Nebraska (No. 25) 98 4. Minnesota (No. 16) 109 5. Iowa State 190
Individual (Winner and MU only) Place Time 1. Amy Mortimer (KSU) 16:69 10. Anna Gullingsrud 17:31 12. Amy Chipman 17:35 13. Ann Marie Brooks 17:36 17. Katie Meyer 17:47 19. Kim Moore 17:49 28. Justa Dahl 18:07 31. Kerry Hils 18:09
