University of Missouri
Missouri Cross Country Challenge
Tigers Open Season with Missouri XC Challenge Title
9/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 8, 2007
Columbia, Mo. - Kicking off the 2007 Cross Country season, both the men and women took home the titles in the 2007 Missouri Cross Country Challenge at A.L. Gustin Golf Course. The men finished with 15 points in the 8K race while the women earned 24 points placing them ahead of the Murray State Racers in the 5K race. Billy Bell (St. Louis, Mo.) placed first for the Tigers clocking in at 26:29.74, while Angela Potrykus (Evergreen, Colo.) placed first for the women with a time of 18:52.77, the first win of her career.
"I thought the guys ran pretty controlled," Head Coach Jared Wilmes said. "We weren't trying to go out there and run crazy today. I thought we had a lot of good things happen today. It is hard to tell exactly where we are at, but the big thing is we ran as a pack, and we will know where we are in three weeks when we head to Minnesota."
The top four finishers on the men's side all finished within 1:02 of each other with sophomore Dan Hedgecock (St. Louis, Mo.) earning runner up honors with a time of 26:30.10. Juniors Tim Cornell (Columbia, Mo.) and Garett Jeffries (Clarkson Valley, Mo.) rounded out the top four at 26:30.44 and 26:30.76, respectively. The first place finish for Bell was the second of his career, and first since earning top honors at the Woody Greeno Invitational in 2004. His time of 26:29.74 was a personal best in the Missouri Cross Country Challenge for Bell by nearly four seconds.
Brian Graybill (Liberty, Mo.) finished sixth for the Tigers crossing the finish line in 27:33.03 while sophomore Ben Wade (St. Charles, Mo.) rounded out the Missouri finishers coming in eighth at 28:04.30.
The Tigers got a strong performance from freshman Jessica Armstrong (Dorr, Mich.) in the women's 5K. Armstrong finished second behind Potrykus in her first collegiate race clocking in at 18:58.99. Armstrong is the first Tiger freshman to finish in the top two in the Missouri Cross Country Challenge since senior Maddie Schueler (Louisville, Ky.) did in 2004. Sophomore Emily Baker (Wildwood, Mo.) rounded out the top-five with a time of 19:30.73, while senior Carolyn Rauen (Cincinnati, Ohio) came in right behind Baker in sixth, running the 5K in 19:36.39.
"On the women's side it was really fun to see Potrykus kind of have a break out performance," Wilmes said. "We also had a good performance from Jessica Armstrong, it was good to see a freshman up in the front."
Overall, 360 runners made their way through the Gustin terrain as 15 different high schools were also on display.
The Tigers next race will be in Nashville, Tenn. as they take part in the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic on Sept. 15.
Players Mentioned
