COLUMBIA, Mo. - After two exciting meets to kick off the season, the Tiger women have moved up a notch on the Midwest Regional rankings, released by the USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) on Monday. They relinquished their pre-season No. 5 position to claim the No. 4 spot after winning their first two meets of the season against Illinois (Aug. 29) and at the Forest Park XC Festival last weekend (Sept. 12). The men, meanwhile, remained unachanged at No. 7 as there were no shifts in the top nine spots after the season's first big meet weekend.
This is the second time that the women have sat at No. 4 in the region in the past two years. The first came last October as the teams were preparing to enter championship season and after the women took the team title at the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill. These two rankings are the highest for the women in the region over the last five years.
Both teams are coming off an exciting meet weekend in St. Louis, where they swept the team competition. The men had a sweep of their own, claiming the top five spots in the field to tally a perfect 15-point score and put 15 Tigers in the top 20. The women had their second consecutive team win, putting 10 in the top 20 of the field.
Now the Tigers look forward to the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn., on September 27. One of the premier meets of the cross country season, this will serve as the first big test for both teams as they begin working toward earning points toward a possible NCAA Championship bid. For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.
| Men's Midwest Region | Women's Midwest Region | ||||
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Oklahoma State Tulsa Iowa State Oklahoma Illinois Kansas Missouri Minnesota Nebraska Southern Illinois Bradley Iowa Illinois State Loyola-Chicago S. Dakota State |
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Iowa State Oklahoma State Minnesota Missouri Bradley Illinois Northwestern Southern Illinois Kansas Iowa Tulsa Illinois State Loyola-Chicago Wichita State Kansas State |
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