Sept. 15, 2009
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After a successful Missouri Cross Country Challenge last weekend, the Tiger cross country program was honored by the Big 12 Conference as both Phillip King (Columbia, Mo.) and Kaitie Vanatta (Littleton, Colo.) earned Big 12 Runner of the Week after winning their respective races last weekend. Vanatta is the first weekly award winner on the women's since current Tiger Kinsey Farren (Dallas, Texas) took home the award on Sept. 30, 2008. King is the first honoree on the men's side since Ben Brammeier (Ballwin, Mo.) took home the award on Sept. 18, 2007. The weekly honors are career-firsts for both King and Vanatta.
"It is great to see both of these student-athletes honored for their hard work," head coach Jared Wilmes said. "Kaitie has recently had to overcome some injuries and has now shown that she can still perform at a really high level. Phillip has been very consistent in his training and is now reaping all of the benefits that come with that training."
King placed first overall at the Missouri Cross Country Challenge with an 8K time of 25:46.30, nearly 20 seconds faster than the next-closest competitor, Dan Wasinger of Kansas. His pace of 3:14 minutes per kilometer helped the Tigers to a second-place team finish at the event. The race was the first of the season for King as he did not race at the SIU Early Bird two weeks ago. King bested 39 runners in the race including each entry from arch rival Kansas.
Vanatta won her first-ever collegiate race with a time of 17:54.30, clocking in more than eight seconds ahead of the second-place finisher in the 5K race. Vanatta's effort helped Mizzou claim consecutive Missouri Cross Country Challenge titles. Although Vanatta paced the women's race, two of her teammates - Ellen Ries (Ryan, Iowa) and Bailey Belvis (Prosper, Texas) - finished just behind her in second and third, respectively. Vanatta ran at a pace of 3:33 per kilometer and 5:46 per mile.
The Mizzou cross country team will return to action of Sept., 26 when it travels to Minnesota for the Roy Graik Classic. For all the latest on Mizzou cross country, stay tuned to www.mutigers.com.