Men Sweep at Forest Park XC Festival

Cross CountrySeptember 11, 2014

Men Sweep at Forest Park XC Festival

Sept. 12, 2014

Junior Kenny Cushing at the 2013 SEC Championships

Women's Overall Results | Women's Team Results
Men's Overall Results | Men's Team Results

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The men and women of Mizzou Cross Country continued their winning streak, showing their depth and talent once again on Friday at the Forest Park XC Festical in St. Louis, Mo. The Tigers claimed both team titles, and an individual first-place finish from junior Kenny Cushing. The women put five in the top 12 while the men dominated the field with 12 of the top 15 on the 6000-meter course.

The women started the afternoon off with their second consecutive team win, after they topped Illinois two weeks ago in Champaign. Once again, it was the trio of sophomore Kaitlyn Fischer and freshmen Karissa Schweizer and Jamie Kempfer who led the Tigers, placing third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. All three bested their times from two weeks ago, with Fischer and Schweizer crossing in 17:37, and Kempfer in 17:38, for 5000-meters.

"To see those three girls up front running together, and really being in sync, was really good to see," first-year Head Coach Marc Burns said. "They're getting more and more comfortable running in packs, and that's something that is going to be really important for us to keep developing as a group during the season."

Junior Sam Garrett once again crossed in fourth for the black in gold in 18:25, and sophomore Nicole Mello moved up in the pack to finish as the final Tiger scorer in fifth.

"Our four-five-six-seven-eight pack improved immensely today from two weeks ago, and we need to have them continue evolving and narrow that gap between three and four," Burns said. "We took a huge step forward today, looked really strong, and I think they're setting themselves up to continue improving and closing that gap."

The men clinched the win with a sweep of the top five spots, tallying a perfect score of 15 points behind the lead group of Cushing, sophomore T.J. Carey, senior Sam Dickerson, junior Tyler Schneider, and sophomore Dan Roe. The rest of the Tiger pack was not far behind, as the Mizzou men claimed 15 of the top 20 spots in the field of 116.

"It was just beautiful to watch those guys running together and communicating and being comfortable around each other. They showed great poise," Burns said. "That's a really good top four there, and to see Dan Roe close the gap at the end and be right on the tail of that group is really important for us."

This was the first win for Cushing on the cross country course, as he crossed in 18:42 for 6000-meters. His teammates were right by his side, as Carey, Dickerson, and Schneider all crossed within a second of Cushing. Roe, only a couple of seconds behind in 18:44, closed out the Tiger scorers.

"We really showed our depth today. We have a lot of guys who can roll right in with that top five," Burns said. "It was phenomenal, I couldn't have asked more from those guys today."

The teams now go into a couple weeks of training before heading to Minneapolis, Minn., for the Roy Griak Invitational. One of the top races in the country for the cross country season, Roy Griak boasts some of the NCAA's best programs. This year looks to be no different, and the Mizzou men and women will look to unleash against some of the best as they begin earning points toward a possible NCAA Championships bid.

For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.

RESULTS - WOMEN