Sept. 30, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou cross country team will return to action this Saturday (Oct. 2) as it takes part in the Greater Louisville Invitational on Saturday morning (Oct. 2) at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park. The meet begins at 9:30 a.m. and will feature teams from all around the nation, most notably from the ACC and SEC. Notable opponents include Georgia, Louisville, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. The men will run an 8K while the women will run a 5K.
"We're excited about the opportunity to line up and get after it this weekend at the Greater Louisville Classic," head coach Rebecca Wilmes said. "It's a nice course and it will feature some great competition and they really showcase cross country well at this meet. We've had a few weeks off from competing now and the team is just chomping at the bit to get out there and race. That's a great place to be as we head to Louisville."
The Tiger women's team, which placed fourth out of 34 teams at this event last season, will run the majority of its top runners while holding out its top runner, Kaitie Vanatta (Littleton, Colo.), to give her some rest heading into the championship portion of the schedule. Running the weekend will be Bailey Belvis (Prosper, Texas), Kinsey Farren (Dallas, Texas), Laura Roxberg (Overland Park, Kan.), Marie O'Leary (Normal, Ill.), Maggie Priebe (Wausau, Wis.), Megan Kowalik (Foristell, Mo.), Eden Slater (Stoneboro, Pa.), Aimee Bonte (Fenton, Mo.), Jessica Armstrong (Dorr, Mich.) and Regan Tindell (Belton, Texas).
Belvis was the Tigers' top finisher at last year's Greater Louisville Classic as she finished the 5K trek in 17:34.63, placing eighth overall. Roxberg, Farren, Bonte, Armstrong and Kowalik all ran at the event last year as well.
The men did not run at last year's meet but will run on Saturday. Leading the way will be Aaron Dixon (Lee's Summit, Mo.), Pat Donnelly (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Hayden Legg (Mexico, Mo.), Kevin McKee (Kansas City, Mo.), Merid Seleshi (Ontario, Canada), Max Storms (Kansas City, Mo.) and Ricky West (Scarborough, Ontario).
For a complete recap of the meet, check back with MUTigers.com. For all the latest on Mizzou cross country, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.