Nov. 22, 2013
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Freshman Kaitlyn Fischer has one final performance before she concludes her memorable debut season as a Mizzou Tiger. The Pevely-native is off to the NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, IN, to face off against the best female collegiate distance runners in the country on Saturday. She will go off at 1:15 p.m. EST on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.
Fischer took over the lead for the team from the start, placing first for the Tigers and seventh overall at the Arkansas Dual in September. She went on to place first for the team at the Roy Griak Invitational two weeks later, was the second Tiger in at the Notre Dame Invitational, and resumed the lead for the remainder of the season; including a third-place performance at the Bradley Invitational, leading the team to a win and their highest Midwest Regional Ranking since 2009 (No. 4).
At the SEC Championship in Gainesville, Fischer paced the Tigers to a seventh-place finish with her sixth-place performance, earning All-SEC Freshman Team, First Team All-SEC, and SEC Freshman of the Year honors. She rode this wave into the Midwest Regional in Ames, IA, last weekend to place sixth overall and punch her ticket to Terre Haute. Fischer earned All-Midwest Regional honors while leading the Tigers to a sixth-place finish, the highest for the team since 2006.
The Field
Fischer will hit the line with 37 other individuals, and 31 teams, who qualified for the season's final meet during the nine Regional Championships last weekend. Among those are two teams from the SEC: No. 3 Arkansas and No. 25 Vanderbilt; and four fellow-SEC individuals: Cally Macumber (Kentucky), Cory McGee (Florida), Hillary Montgomery (Texas A&M), and Agata Strausa (Florida).
The Course
The LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course was dedicated in 1997 and has since played host to nine NCAA DI Championship meets. Although the course is known for being friendly to spectators, its rolling hills are a very real challenge to the men and women who will traverse the 10k and 6k routes, respectively.
The NCAA will be streaming the meet live here, beginning at noon EST. For more information on the Championship, visit the meet's home page. For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.