Sept. 2, 2008
The Tigers host its lone home meet, the Missouri Cross Country Challenge on A.L. Gustin Golf Course on Saturday, September 13. High school teams will compete early in the morning while the collegiate races, which include Missouri and Kansas begin at 10 a.m.
The 2008 season starts anew for the Missouri Cross Country teams with a sense of anticipation of what is to come. With a men's team full of veterans and a women's squad that has many of the same keys from last season, the Tigers look to have a sizeable impact this season on the Big 12 Conference and beyond.
MEN
The Tiger men return seven of nine who made up the squad's Big 12 Championship roster a year ago and will have many vying for those positions again this year.
Foremost among those returning is junior Dan Hedgecock (St. Louis, Mo.) who placed among the top half of the field individually at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last season after earning All-Region honors with a 13th-place showing at the Midwest Regional.
“Dan finishing 125th at the national meet, having a guy of that caliber coming back and a guy who is just going to be a junior provides a lot of confidence in the group,” said Head Coach Jared Wilmes. “Having him and Garett Jeffries – who both ran 14-minutes on track – it gives you two solid guys.”
Garett Jeffries (St. Louis, Mo.) will be a senior on the cross country course in 2008. He, along with Hedgecock was the team's one-two punch in the Tiger lineup at both the Big 12 Championship meet and the NCAA Regional run. On the track, the duo turned in nearly identical 14:09 times at 5,000 meters at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto to earn spots in the track & field regional this past spring. Jeffries has earned two-consecutive All-Big 12 honors on the track with top eight finishes in the league's outdoor 10k run in both 2007 and 2008.
Another Tiger who is likely going to have a breakthrough season is senior Tim Cornell (Columbia, Mo.). Cornell, who battled injury woes in the outdoor track season, will be back with fervor, claiming Mizzou's third scoring spot last season at the NCAA Regional. On the track, Cornell is a miler, posting a career best 4:07.44 at the Meyo Invitational last indoor season while also collecting an All-Big 12 honor in placing seventh at the league's championships.
Beyond Hedgecock, Jeffries, and Cornell, leaves seemingly many spots left up for grabs to complete a deep Tiger team.
“Having guys like Brian Graybill and Michael Barrows adds a lot of depth to this team. I think will be tough on this team to make the top seven, top nine. I think contending is a good thing, having a competitive atmosphere provides more depth, and I think we are going to be better on the frontline then we were last year.”
Graybill (Liberty, Mo.) and Barrows (Flint, Mich.) both enter their senior campaigns having ran in six championship meets collectively. Graybill has twice earned All-Big 12 honors on the track at 1,000 meters and will look to build on a 3:48.68 1500-meter personal best set during the 2008 outdoor season. Barrows has battled with injuries for the past two school years, being able to only compete sporadically. As a freshman in 2005, Barrows was the Tigers' sixth finisher at the NCAA Regional Championships.
“Having a lot of guys who are now sophomores and had a year to develop is a big thing,” said Wilmes. “With guys like Phillip King, Dan Quigley, Ben Brammeier, having those guys back and having a good summer of training, I think is key to the success of this team.”
King (Columbia, Mo.), Quigley (St. Louis, Mo.), and Brammeier (Ballwin, Mo.) all will be called upon to take a swing at the team's top spots. Quigley claimed Mizzou's fourth spot at both the Big 12 and NCAA Regional meets during his freshman campaign. King was also in the mix at both championship meets last season. Brammeier was named Big 12 Runner of the Week in September of last season, placing high at the Vanderbilt Classic, and leading the team, in his first race as a Tiger.
Veterans Kyle Rood (St. Peters, Mo.), Rick Scheff (Atlanta, Ga.), and Ben Wade (St. Charles, Mo.) will add more experience to the group. Rood and Wade have logged time on the squad's Big 12 Championship roster while Scheff was a regional qualifier and indoor All-Big 12 selection at 800 meters during his freshman track season.
The Tigers also have a group of freshmen that will add to the squad's resume. Phil Bascio (Florissant, Mo.) twice earned top-10 finishes for Christian Brothers High School in the MSHSAA's Class 4. Blake Irwin (Bettendorf, Iowa) was a five-time Iowa State Champion on the track at mid-distance, earning All-State honors in cross country. Michael Pandolfo (Lone Tree, Colo.) transferred from Creighton for the 2008-09 school year, having ran for the Blue Jays in NCAA Regional last season. Stanton Ragland (Liberty, Mo.) was an All-State selection in cross country a year ago.
“While I'm pleased with the group I have coming in, I don't look for any freshman to come in and make an immediate impact,” said Wilmes. “I think Phil Bascio is going to be a really nice runner for us, but I think it's going to take some time to grow and develop. I think the thing we have is, the most returners than we've ever had before, so we don't have to rely on those freshman to be scorers or placers.”
WOMEN
While the men return depth, the Mizzou women return headliners, but will have to rely on newcomers to make an impact to fill the loss of four conference scorers from a year ago. The good news is, four of Mizzou's top five from the Big 12 meet a year ago return.
“We have a young team, but I think it will be fun,” said Wilmes. “We'll have some ups-and-downs, but I think we could have a very good group if this group comes together. Fourth through tenth was within 40 points of each other at the conference meet (a year ago), so it will be a dogfight at all levels.”
Sophomore Kinsey Farren (Dallas, Texas) made an immediate impact on the squad during her freshman season a year ago, placing as the team's best finisher at the Big 12 meet in claiming a spot in the near the conference's top 25. On the track in 2008, Farren won All-Big 12 honors in placing sixth at 10,000 meters at the league meet in Boulder, Colo. In addition, Farren became Mizzou's first female Drake Relays Champ on the track since 1999 with a tactical 10k race.
“Obviously, Kinsey will be the person leading the program,” said Wilmes. “She had a great summer of training and coming off a sixth-place finish at the conference meet. We are excited to see what she can do this season.”
Senior Angela Potrykus (Evergreen, Colo.) returns to Columbia after missing the 2008 track season, opting to spend a semester in the study abroad program. Potrykus was the Tigers' third scorer last season at the Big 12 meet and has earned All-Big 12 honors on the track in the steeplechase and indoor 1000-meter events.
Ellen Ries (Ryan, Iowa) was the squad's third finisher at the NCAA Regional for the second-straight year in 2007, and looks to run up the scoring ladder in her senior season. Ries was an All-Big 12 performer at 1000 meters during the 2008 indoor track campaign, placing fourth in the league meet with an impressive 2:49.55 personal-best run.
Coach Wilmes says sophomore Jessica Armstrong (Dorr, Mich.) and junior Emily Baker (Wildwood, Mo.) are two who can made a difference on this team for 2008. Armstrong was on the Tigers' Big 12 roster last season and looks to build upon that experience. Baker has earned All-Big 12 honors on the track in the mile run in 2008, running a 4:50.66 personal best to qualify for the league final in the event.
Two freshmen who look to make a substantial contribution to the 2008 squad will be Aimee Bonte (Fenton, Mo.) and Laura Roxberg (Overland Park, Kan.). Bonte was best known in the state of Missouri on the track, having won the last two 3200-meter titles in Class 4 for Rockwood Summit High School. Roxberg swept all four Kansas 6A cross country titles in her career with Blue Valley Northwest High School, and was a seven-time state champion on the track. Roxberg also has a personal best of 4:54.93 in the mile, a mark that can be competitive on the track in the conference ranks right away.
“Aimee and Laura are two of the best freshmen we've ever had come in,” said Wilmes.
Also joining the squad as newcomers in 2008 are Megan Kowalik (Wright City, Mo.), Shannon Leinert, and Ashley Mark (Lee's Summit, Mo.). Leinert transferred from the University of Florida while Mark was a three-time All-State Class 4 performer in cross country at Lee's Summit North High School.