Oct. 15, 2005
Peoria, Ill. - Competing in their final regular season meet of the 2005 campaign, the Missouri women's cross country team took first-place at the Bradley Classic this afternoon, while the men finished second on the Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Ill. Seniors Valerie Lauver (Allen, Texas) and Matt Noonan (Baldwin City, Kan.), both finished second in their respective 6K and 8K races.
On the women's side, all nine Tiger runners finished among the top-25 in competition, with sophomore Maddie Schueler (Louisville, Ky.) and senior Kristin Hansen (Milford, Iowa) finishing third and fourth respectively. Her sixth top-five finish of her career, Lauver held on to an early lead, but was unable to challenge Drake's Ashley Anklam who claimed the 6K title in 20:57. Pacing themselves for top-10 finishes were sophomores Kasey Kimball (Eureka, Mo.) in sixth and Carolyn Rauen (Cincinnati, Ohio) in eighth. The women held a relatively tight team formation throughout the race, sweeping second through fourth place, with Missouri's ninth and final runner finishing 24th of over 100 runners.
Second only to two-time defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport champion University of Windsor, the Missouri men's cross country team tallied 51 points, with Noonan completing the fairly flat 8K course in 24:42.20. Junior Colten Green (Roach, Mo,) pulled out all the stops on his way to a seventh place finish, his highest career finish since beginning his collegiate career in 2003. Following close on his heels was sophomore Billy Bell (Chesterfield, Mo.) who finished ninth in 25:39.88. Redshirt freshman Brian Graybill (Liberty, Mo.) and true freshman Tim Cornell (Columbia, Mo.) were Missouri's fourth and fifth scored runners, finishing ninth and 11th respectively.
"Both teams really had a great effort today," Head Coach Jared Wilmes said. "This was a good race in which our younger runners were given the opportunity to develop but also enjoy the race"
The Tigers will resume action Friday, Oct. 28, at the 10th annual Big 12 Cross Country Championships in Waco, Texas. Hosted by Baylor, the men's 8K race is slated for a 9 a.m. (CT) start with the women's 6K expected to begin at 10 a.m. (CT).
At the time of release, final results for the women's Bradley Classic had not been posted. All efforts to provide final results on the University of Missouri website will be made as soon as possible.