Sept. 2, 2011
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CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Mizzou cross country program kicked off its 2011 season Friday (Sept. 2) with a pair of 4K races at the Saluki Early Bird, battling 96-degree temperatures along with teams from Southern Illinois University and Rend Lake College. The Tiger women finished second in the team standings behind the host Salukis, while Mizzou was the only school to field a complete squad on the men's side. The friendly meet was not officially scored.
Leading a group of six Tiger freshmen, Courtney Wood finished third in the women's race with a time of 14:59.3, while Courtney Brown came in fifth and Maria Effingerwas ninth.
"We ran four true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen today," women's coach Rebecca Wilmessaid. "We raced great and stayed at the front of the pack. It was exciting to see the girls in a Missouri uniform for the first time this season, and to see them move up through the pack and finish very well."
Senior Ricky West (Scarborough, Ontario) finished second in the men's 4K race with a time of 12:30.7, while redshirt freshman JT McCarthy (Burlington, Iowa) came in seventh at 12:45.9 and senior Kyle Rood (St. Peters, Mo.) was eighth at 12:48.2.
"We showed good effort from top to bottom," said first-year men's coach Joe Lynn, who led the Tigers for the first time. "Ricky showed a lot of heart and guts at the end of the race. JT and Kyle were tough running at the front of the race, which will help in the championship part of the season. We accomplished what we came to do; now we have to continue to work. We're going to take today for what it was and get ready for the next one."
The Tigers will return home next Saturday (Sept. 10), when they host the Missouri Cross Country Challenge. Action begins at 8 a.m. at A.L. Gustin Golf Course. For the latest updates on Mizzou Cross Country, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.