Oct. 28, 2005
Waco, Texas - Opening the Big 12 Championship season with the 10th annual Cross Country meet, Missouri's men finished fifth (182 points) and the women fourth (117 points) on the 8K and 6K Bear Run Course in Waco, Texas, respectively. Colorado's men won their 10th consecutive team title with 44 points and the CU women clinched the title with 38 points.
Senior Texas native Valerie Lauver (Allen, Texas) earned the third All-Big 12 honor of her career after finishing ninth overall and first for the Missouri women in 21:08. On the men's side, senior Matt Noonan (Baldwin City, Kan.) finished 21st overall (24:38) and first for the Tigers.
"Despite not having a couple of our best runners, both our men's and women's teams did really well today," Head Coach Jared Wilmes said. "Everyone really went out hard and ran strong and I think it was a good competition. Overall, I'm really pleased with both team's performances."
A 10 a.m. (CT) shotgun start signaled the beginning for the men's 8K race. Leaving from box one next to host school Baylor, Noonan stayed in the lead pack throughout the race. True freshman Garrett Jeffries (Clarkson Valley, Mo.) recorded one of the best 8K performances of his young career, finishing second for the Tigers and 37th overall in 25:17. Senior Neville Miller (St. Louis, Mo.) and junior Colten Green (Roach, Mo.) finished 42nd and 43rd, respectively. An 800-runner on Missouri's track team, Miller had an extra kick at the end of the race to pick off several of the league's top runners. Senior Chase Hall (Tulsa, Okla.), true freshman Tim Cornell (Columbia, Mo.), sophomore Billy Bell (Chesterfield, Mo.) and redshirt freshman Brian Graybill (Liberty, Mo.) rounded out the Tigers squad in 53rd, 54th, 55th and 70th, respectively.
On the women's side, Lauver jumped to an early lead and stayed with the top-10 throughout the race. Senior Kristin Hansen (Milford, Iowa) improved on last season's 23rd place finish with a 20th place finish in 21:48. Since joining the Tiger program in 2002, Hansen has made gradual improvement from 49th to 20th this season. Sophomore Maddie Schueler (Louisville, Ky.) competed in her second Big 12 Championship competition and finished 26th overall in 21:56. A native of Clarkston, Mich., senior Ashley Patten finished 29th, with redshirt freshman Summer Owens finishing 33rd in 22:25. Freshman Mallory VanNess (Shoreview, Minn.), sophomore Kasey Kimball (Eureka, Mo.) freshman Ellen Ries (Ryan, Iowa) and sophomore Carolyn Rauen (Ci9ncinnati, Ohio) finished 36th, 37th, 48th, and 64th, respectively.
The Tigers will have two weeks to rest before competing at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in Iowa City, Iowa, Saturday, Nov. 12.