Oct. 25, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Mizzou men's and women's cross country teams will face off against many of the nation's best runners Saturday (Oct. 29) when they travel to College Station, Texas for the annual Big 12 Championships, hosted by Texas A&M University. The meet at the Pebble Creek Country Club begins with the men's race at 10 a.m. CT, with the women's race an hour later. Complete championship information is available here.
Saturday's meet is sure to provide high-level competition, as the conference has several schools ranked in the national polls from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA), which can be found here. Top-ranked Oklahoma State has won the Big 12 men's title three years in a row, and Texas Tech has won three straight league crowns on the women's side.
Mizzou's men's squad currently ranks 13th in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional poll, while the Tiger women are No. 9 in the region. Click here for complete regional rankings.
Each school can enter 10 runners in the men's and women's races. Mizzou will feature an experienced group of student-athletes on both sides.
Racing for Mizzou on the men's side will be redshirt seniors Dan Quigley (St. Louis, Mo.), Phillip King (Columbia, Mo.), and Kyle Rood (St. Peters, Mo.); redshirt junior Kevin McKee (Kansas City, Mo.); junior Max Storms (Kansas City, Mo.); redshirt sophomores Hayden Legg (Mexico, Mo.) and Tyler Compton (Buffalo, Mo.); sophomore Merid Seleshi (Scarborough, Ontario); and freshmen Bryant Blahnik and Sam Dickerson.
“We're looking forward to going down to College Station and being very competitive in this loaded Big 12 meet,” Men's Head Coach Joe Lynn said. “The Big 12 Championships are the first step in the championship season process, and we've had some big goals and expectations since Day 1 of practice. Meets like this are why we train so hard day in and day out, so it will be exciting to see how the men step up to the challenge and what we can accomplish with the end result.”
In the women's race, the Tigers will run seniors Aimee Bonte (Fenton, Mo.) and Laura Roxberg (Overland Park, Kan.); junior Bailey Belvis (Prosper, Texas); sophomores Marie O'Leary (Normal, Ill.), Maggie Priebe (Wausau, Wis.) and Kaitie Vanatta (Littleton, Colo.); and freshmen Courtney Brown (Palatine, Ill.), Maria Effinger, Liz Reida (Springfield, Mo.) and Courtney Wood (Neosho, Mo.).
“We're looking forward to lining up and competing tough this Saturday,” Women's Head Coach Rebecca Wilmes said. “Big 12 Cross Country is hot from top to bottom, and we're excited about toeing the line and getting after it.”
Following the conference championships, the Tiger men and women will travel to DeKalb, Ill., on Nov. 12 for the NCAA Midwest Regional, hosted by Northern Illinois University. For complete coverage of the Big 12 Championships and the latest news on Mizzou Cross Country, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.
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