Oct. 12, 2000

After taking last week off to rest and recover from injuries, the University of Missouri cross country team takes to the course at Iowa State for the Pre-Nationals. The meet will serve as the final tune-up before going to the Big 12 Conference Championships at Boulder, Colo., on Oct. 28.

The Tigers last ran Oct. 1, at the Lakefront Invitational hosted by Loyola-Chicago. The Missouri men scored 32 points and the women scored 50 points to sweep the field. Senior Nick Smith took first on the men's side with a mark of 24:40. He was followed by teammates junior Mike Pitts (25:00) and senior Adam MacDowell (25:03), who took second and third respectively.

Mizzou's women mirrored the performance of their Tiger brethren by taking the top two spots and four of the top-seven.Ann Marie Brooks led the way for the Tigers. The senior, fresh off being named Big 12 Runner of the Week for the week of Sept. 25, finished first with a mark of 21:11. Brooks was followed by sophomore Kerry Hils (21:33) in second place, senior Katie Meyer (21:52) in sixth place and sophomore Amy Chipman (21:54) in seventh place. Freshman Katherine Bonugli (22:55) rounded out the top-50 for Missouri coming in 34th.

The Iowa State Cross Country course on the ISU campus will be the site for Saturday's meet. The men's Division I 8k race begins at 10:30 a.m. and the women's Division I 6k race starts at 11:30. Some of the top teams participating include Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Colorado State and Weber State.

"We are excited about competing in the Pre-Nationals," said Head Coach Jared Wilmes. This is a big meet for us and our last race before conference."