Results: Men Gold | Women Gold | Men Blue | Women Blue
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - One week after the Tigers took on the brutal Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn., the teams were back on the line, this time for Saturday's Greater Louisville Classic (Oct. 4) at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. Both teams emerged with a lot of positives as they look toward the final set of regular season meets in two weeks, with the men placing third and second and the women placing fifth and first in the Gold and Blue Races, respectively.
THE TIGER MEN
The men's Gold Race had the first gun of the day, with junior Tyler Schneider guiding the squad of seven to a third-place team finish. His ninth-place individual crossing in 24:02.60 is the best ever for a Tiger man at this meet. Not far behind Schneider sophomores T.J. Carey in 13th overall with a final time of 24:22.09 and Dan Roe in 16th (24:26.35).
"This was a big step forward for our men's team," Head Coach Marc Burns, currently mid-way through his first season with the Tigers, said. "Seeing Tyler [Schneider] step up and run with that laser-vision up front was really cool to see. T.J. [Carey] looked really strong, and Dan Roe stepped up big time for us today, which was really important."
All three clocked in personal records (PR's) for 8000-meters on the cross country course. Sophomore Jordan Cook was fourth for the Tigers with another PR of 24:47.96, and senior Sam Dickerson rounded out the scorers in 57th with a final time of 25:04.52. Their final tally of 125 points earned the highest men's team finish at this meet - third out of 28. Among those teams surpassed by the Tigers were fellow-SEC competitors Georgia and Tennessee, and fellow-Midwest Regional competitor Illinois.
The Blue Race also saw some PR's on the cross country course, starting with sophomore Chandler Dye who led the men to their second-place finish with a 17th-place crossing in 25:11.18. Following him was freshman Evan Schulte, who cut off over two-minutes in his second career 8000-meter race in the black and gold to finish in 25:18.98 for 19th. Freshman Billy Leighton, sophomore Tyler Rusboldt, and freshman Sheldon Keence closed out the Tigers' scorers, earning a total of 108 points.
"It was great to see Chandler Dye step up and have a great day. He's been training really well, so it was good to see him put it together in the race," Burns said. "Billy Leighton got the call Thursday night that he was on this trip, and he really made the most of the opportunity finishing as our second guy. It was a great day for the men. We're putting more and more of our pieces together, and a lot of progress was made today. We're definitely moving in the right direction."
THE TIGER WOMEN
The women's team also matched up well against a competitive field, placing fifth in the Gold Race and notching a team win in the Blue Race. The Gold Race was up first, with freshman Karissa Schweizer stepping up to lead the Tigers with her 11th-place finish on the 5000-meter course with a final time of 17:18.17. Senior Courtney Wood was next in 34th (17:45.49), followed by sophomore Kayla Wolf (17:52.92), freshman Jamie Kempfer (17:58.81), and sophomore Nicole Mello (18:12.79). Schweizer, Wood, Wolf, and Mello's were good for new 5000-meter PR's on the cross country course.
Mizzou's fifth-place finish put them ahead of both SEC teams in attendance (Georgia and Ole Miss), and within sight of nationally-ranked Virginia Tech (No. 28).
"Both women's races were great. It was really good to see the ladies running well from top to bottom," Burns said. "Taking fifth in the Gold Race and winning the Blue Race really shows that we have some really great depth on both sides. They put themselves in great position from the start, and competed hard throughout both races."
The women's Blue Race saw the first Mizzou team win ever at the Greater Louisville Classic, with the squad's final tally of 122 points distancing them from the rest of the field by 49 points. Leading the way was freshman Madison Waymire in 12th overall with a final itme of 18:20.93, followed closely by sophomore Teylar Adelsberger in 13th (18:22.93). Sophomores Libby Luciani (19th), Brooke Wolfe (34th), and Kayla Friesen (59th) rounded out the black and gold scorers.
COMING UP...
The Tigers now embark on two-weeks of training before splitting between the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill. (Fri. Oct. 17), and the Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. (Sat. Oct. 18).
"Right now we're focusing on getting everyone past all of the sickness hitting Mizzou and having a couple of good training weeks before Pre-Nats and Bradley," Burns said. "Those are going to be a couple of really good opportunities for us to really solidify who our top ten is going to be at the SEC Championship. This is a big training block and once we get through these next couople weeks, we're home free."
For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.
GOLD RACE
| MEN | WOMEN | |||||
| 9. Tyler Schneider 13. T.J. Carey 16. Dan Roe 35. Jordan Cook 57. Sam Dickerson 60. Drew White 89. Kenny Cushing |
24:02.60 24:22.09 24:26.35 24:47.96 25:04.52 25:09.03 25:27.69 |
11. Karissa Schweizer 34. Courtney Wood 43. Kayla Wolf 53. Jamie Kempfer 79. Nicole Mello 99. Sam Garrett 108. Maria Effinger |
17:18.17 17:45.49 17:52.92 17:58.81 18:12.79 18:20.07 18:24.37 |
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BLUE RACE
| MEN | WOMEN | |||||
| 17. Chandler Dye 19. Evan Schulte 21. Billy Leighton 24. Tyler Rusboldt 27. Sheldon Keence 53. Shannon Hall 81. Chris Mooneyham |
25:11.18 25:18.98 25:22.09 25:28.56 25:30.65 25:44.59 25:59.63 |
12. Madison Waymire 13. Teylar Adelsberger 19. Libby Luciani 34. Brooke Wolfe 59. Kayla Friesen 137. Ashlynn Yokom |
18:20.93 18:22.93 18:32.83 18:44.69 19:00.90 19:36.24 |
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