University of Missouri
Bradley 'Pink' Classic
Tigers split squads for final meet weekend of the regular season
10/15/2015 4:24:00 PM | Cross Country
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Championship season is in sight for Mizzou Cross Country, as they enter their final regular season meet weekend of the year. While 19 Tigers will head to Peoria, Ill., for Friday's (Oct. 16) Bradley Pink Classic, the top seven on both the men's and women's teams will depart for Louisville, Ky., where they will preview the NCAA Championship course at the Pre-National Invitational on Saturday (Oct. 17). This will be the final round of competition for the black and gold before they take on the SEC Championships on October 30.
BRADLEY PINK CLASSIC
Meet Home
The Tigers are no strangers to this meet, having made the trip to Peoria consistently since 2010, including twice last year for both the Classic as well as the Midwest Regional Championship meet. It will be a full field on Friday, with the Tigers taking the line against 19 of their fellow-Midwest Regional competitors. Events at the Newman Golf Course will begin at 4:25 pm CT with the men's Red 8k, followed by the women's Red 6k at 5:05 pm CT.
The Midwest Regional Field
Bradley // Chicago State // Creighton // DePaul // Drake // Eastern Illinois // Illinois (men only) // Illinois-Chicago // Illinois State // Iowa // Kansas State // Loyola // Nebraska // Northern Illinois (women only) // Northern Iowa // Saint Louis // SE Missouri State // SIUE // South Dakota // Western Illinois
Eleven men and eight women will lace up for the Tigers, including junior Drew White and freshman Hannah Thomas, who led the men and women, respectively, in the open race during the Notre Dame Invitational two weeks ago. Thomas is one of eight freshmen who will take to the line this weekend, joining Elly DeTurris, Emmie Hahn, and Carolyn White on the women's side, and Zach Cook, Thomas George, Patrick Kearns, and Mark Sheridan on the men's.
A group of mid-distance specialists will also don the black and gold for what will, for the most part, be the final meet of their cross country season. Leading the way on the men's side is junior Will Crocker, a returning All-SEC finisher in the 1500m, who had also taken the helm early on this season, crossing first for the Tigers at the Illini Challenge in September. Joining him will be fellow-middle distance runners, sophomores Ben Goodman, Cain Winebrenner, Valeska Halamicek, and Bailey Hession.
Men's Starting Line
Zach Cook, Fr. // Will Crocker, Jr. // Chandler Dye, Jr. // Thomas George, Fr. // Ben Goodman, So. // Brian Hernan, So. // Tim Johnson, Jr. // Patrick Kearns, Fr. // Mark Sheridan, Fr. // Drew White, Jr. // Cain Winebrenner, So.
Women's Starting Line
Elly DeTurris, Fr. // Kayla Friesen, Jr. // Emmie Hahn, Fr. // Valeska Halamicek, So. // Bailey Hession, So. // Bianca Mello, So. // Hannah Thomas, Fr. // Carolyn White, Fr.
NCAA PRE-NATIONAL INVITATIONAL
Meet Home
The top seven men and women will also face a loaded field during Saturday's NCAA Pre-National Invitational at E.P Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. There, the teams will get a preview of the NCAA Championship course, while also facing off with some of the top teams in the country. Events will begin at 9:30 am ET with the men's 8k Red Race, followed by the women's 6k Red Race.
The Men's Field
The Tiger men will kick things off Saturday morning, joining a 40-team field which boasts 11 of the top-ranked teams in the current national rankings, including current national leader Colorado, Oregon (No. 3), Georgetown (No. 10), Arkansas (No. 13-t), UTEP (No. 13-t), Louisville (No. 17), California (No. 22), Colorado State (No. 23), Southern Utah (No. 25), Air Force (No. 29), and Texas (No. 30). Four other SEC teams will also be in attendance - Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida, and Georgia - giving the Tigers a bit of a sneak-peek into who they will face at the conference championship meet in two weeks.
Included in the line-up for the Tigers is junior Jordan Cook, who has led the squad in two of his three meets this season, pacing through for second in the field at the Forest Park XC Festival and hitting a new 8k PR at the Texas A&M Invitational (24:11.0), where he was 14th. Crossing by his side for both of those competitions was sophomore Marc Dubrick, who is also featured on the travel roster for Louisville.
Junior Dan Roe, who stepped up to take the reins during the Notre Dame Invitational two weeks ago, will also suit up on Saturday for his third meet of the season. Rounding out the Tigers' roster is sophomore Sheldon Keence, junior Ian McGinn, junior Luca Russo, and sophomore Evan Schulte.
The Women's Field
The Mizzou women are also set to take on a premier field on Saturday, with eight of the top-ranked teams in the country scheduled to make appearances - Colorado (No. 2), Oregon (No. 4), Michigan (No. 5), Georgetown (No. 7), Stanford (No. 9), Villanova (No. 26), Texas (No. 27), and Cornell (No. 29). Fellow-SEC competitors Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, and Mississippi State will join them in the field.
This will be the second major test of the season for the young women's team, who also took on a nationally-ranked field two weeks ago at the Notre Dame Invitational. The women return this weekend to take on yet another stacked field, with sophomore Karissa Schweizer back at the top of the line-up after taking 18th at Notre Dame with a 5k PR of 16:59.30. Joining her on the line will be junior Teylar Adelsberger, freshman Kelli Jackson, and sophomore Jamie Kempfer, all of whom have been consistent top five finishers for the Tigers this season.
Rounding out this weekend's roster will be sophomore Ellyn Atkinson, senior Sam Garrett, and junior Nicole Mello.
HERE FROM COACH BURNS...
"The crew racing at Bradley will have a chance to race on a fasat course, and continue to develop the ability to race well in a crowded field. Both teams should expect to compete in the front half of the field, in with the top runners from the other teams. It is important for us to see a good team effort at Bradley and Pre-Nationals this weekend. We do need to figure out what our lineup will be for the SEC Championships, but I am more interested in seeing how can make their teammates better. A good team effort means racing side-by-side with a teammate, and helping each other race at their best. The Pre-National Invitational will be a great test for our team, and will provide a bit of a callusing-effect going into the championship season. We have two young teams who will gain a ton of experience battling against the nation's best in another crowded field. We have enjoyed another fantastic two-week block of training, and now it is time to translate all the great work we have done into big-time racing."
For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.
Players Mentioned
